Anyone with antenatal anxiety please read

[Sleeplessinnorthlondon]

Dear mumsnetter,
I spent most of this year pregnant and at my wits end with anxiety and in particular that my anxiety was harming the baby. I googled everything under the sun, scared myself silly, spent money we'd saved for the baby and then more on credit cards seeing specialist psychiatrists when NHS couldn't help, (Barnet made my first appt for coming Jan!!!) then counsellors and finally v helpful cbt. Mumsnet was my absolute lifeline and posted once to say baby born and well but came on here for first time in weeks during comedy long feed and saw woman going through something similar and had to share some things I wish I'd known. 1. Telling doctors honestly how low you are won't make them take the baby away. I was almost sectioned at one point and it was made clear to me at the time that they still wouldn't have removed the baby, they only do this if you are at risk of harming the baby not yourself. I tried and tried to get social services or other intervention and was impossible so depressing as that is also hopefully reassuring on reflection that even the worst antenatal anxiety is not grounds for them to even considered taking child. 2. In many many cases (definitely mine) the anxiety is in some way linked to your hormonal state and is going to lift when you give birth. Everyone told me this, I didn't believe it, they were right. Straight after birth I felt my mood lift and eight weeks on feel exhausted, overwhelmed and so so happy. There isn't a huge degree of understanding as far as I can tell about why this is but gp explained just as some women get hideous sickness, others get hideous anxiety and it very often really does stop just as quickly 3. You're not alone. I wish I could tell you help is out there, we had to pay for ours as in my area it wasn't but be honest with gp, see what you can get and please please remember this is far more common than I ever realised and it will end!!! I am going to name change to something pretty recognisable only as want to draw line under what was a difficult few months big account still same so you can pm me from this or post here and will track (if don't reply pm as sometimes alerts don't work!!!) but for me mumsnet was total total lifesaver. So many women have been through similar things and come out the other end and you will too. Wishing anyone going though tricky pregnancy strength and courage and here if you have any questions at all. Thanks again to the wonderful mumsnetters who helped me get this far, and here's to a wonderful 2016 xxxxxzx ps - below is a photo of my baby to help reassure you that my own gp's reassurances that all the articles I read (even from
Harvard etc) about anxiety harming the baby had yet to be proven let alone accepted by wider profession and that in his forty odd years of seeing patients like me (again, this is common) he'd never seen a case where the anxiety had been passed on were sound! Sorry, long sentence, still aleepless but cheerfully so!!! Xxxxx

[Lunalovepud]

Sleepless! I've been wondering about you for ages and hoping you and your little boy are well! I've nc'd since you were posting regularly but I was posting often for you an am so pleased that you are doing well and enjoying your son. Take care! X