Pre-Natal Blues, anyone?

[ArmchairPetroleuse]

Hello,

I've been finding it very tough throughout my pregnancy what with all the physical symptoms etc. However what I'd like to discuss is how all of this makes people feel. There seems to be very little support or resources out there for mums-to-be who are finding the emotional and psychological impact of such a huge life event hard going.

Does anyone else find this to be the case? I'd really like to hear from other people what their experiences are/have been.

I have a history of mental health and made my midwife aware very early on. I have actually been recieving support from perinatal and can’t fault them really.
I really struggled in the first 12 weeks, the sickness and fatigue made my moods drop so low and it sort of got me off on a bad note for pregnancy. But i’m accepting it more and have
more good days than bad now (22 weeks)
I think more women need to support other women that are pregnant and having a tough time. It is not a sin to not enjoy every second of pregnancy.
I was estatic when I found out I was pregnant but after the initial excitement wore off it made me question everything in my life. It’s alot to adjust to!!

I've had excellent prenatal support so far (16 weeks). It probably made a difference that I was already under the care of a psychiatrist so the mental issues aren't new/as a result of pregnancy although pregnancy as made some aspects worse. I have been quite open about it and am under the care of a specialist midwife with a referral to the perinatal psychiatrist (as well as still seeing my own regularly). I've also already had a c-section agreed in principle for mental health reasons. I imagine it might be very different if it's something that develops during the course of the pregnancy though.

I've had it rough with hyperemisis and being basically isolated in the house with a court case coming up that I'm a witness too which has sparked some anxiety as it was a violent crime.
Luckily I have a gp who I was able to go too during a low point where I cried to her about how I was suffering mentally and she got me referred to a mh nurse who I see every week.
I was thinking I was a monster because I was considering an abortion because I couldn't cope even though dh and I planned this pregnancy, it all totally threw me but I was told it was completely normal to think like that when you've been that sick.
I do think it's ridiculous the lack of help as I'd tried to reach out to my midwife but she ignored me saying I was struggling and put I was fine when I wasn't and was more concerned about stupid things then helping me. Since then she's continued to flap about stupid things and made me go to a consultant who was condescending and so nasty to me when really I didn't need to go see them.
I honestly don't know what I would do without dh and my mh nurse because I would have been more of a mess then I already am.

Thank you for all your replies-I found it very helpful to hear from you all. Mental Health is still a taboo in our society I think, in spite of all the social changes having taken place in past few decades. I wouldn't dream of doing down the NHS, they work very hard for us all and try their best(of course there are always exceptions, unfortunately) but they simply don't have the time or the resources to help/refer with mental health issues.

I really like the idea of a perinatal psychiatrist/psychotherapist. Wish there were more of those to the pound. I'm already a long-standing member of a psychotherapy group that meets weekly and they are a godsend. Everyone should have access to that kind of level of support weekly or however often they need.

Which brings me to an idea I have. I haven't much experience with online forums etc but I wondered if we could develop this thread into some kind of weekly online discussion group/forum thingy (to use the technical term). Every week or however often you want, you could check in with us all and tell us what kind of day/week/month you've been having. Basically what I'm after is the cyberspace version of my psychotherapy group! What do people think about this? I'd welcome any ideas/feedback or even more experiences/feelings you want to share...