34 weeks pregnant severe panic attacks

[Carlywalford94]

I'm 34+4 and I keep having terrible panic attacks where I feel like I can't breath. I can't eat or sleep I'm so exhausted. But it's now midnight and IV just had another panic attack this is my second today this is so unlike me I don't want to people to feel sorry with me so I just go with it and try to breath through it. This is my second preganancy and have never felt like this before just have an overwhelming feeling of sadness and start to panic about things that aren't in my control and then I can't breath. Is this normal and will it affect my baby?

Try and get yourself seen by your midwife tomorrow, increased anxiety is normal (mine usually goes away by the third trimester) but panic attacks certainly aren't. Well done for breathing through it but if you are having multiple ones in the day maybe there is something else you could try. I find yoga really helpful with stopping my mind racing and worrying over things I cannot control, there is an app called "waking up" that has a free course of meditation guidance that I found helpful when it started to get worse. Hope you find something that helps x

I used to have panic attacks when I was pregnant and they were awful. I spoke to my consultant and she referred me to the psychiatrist - I saw her once a week because my anxiety and depression were so bad.

I'm sorry, it's an awful thing to put up with.

Thankyou so much just feel alot better knowing it's not just me. Sometimes I think just speaking to someone is so helpful who is in the same boat! X

Oh I know. The best thing about seeing the psychiatrist was that she validated a lot of my feelings and let me know that so much of it was normal.

I wasn't scared of birth before getting pregnant, but when I was pregnant I became so terrified that any kind of birth book would lead to a panic attack. Milli Hill led to me sobbing uncontrollably and hyperventilating in the middle of the street while my heart raced out of control and Ina Garten caused me to panic so badly I vomited. It was not a good time. I was utterly convinced either I, or the baby would die during birth.

We're both fine. The anxiety went away as soon as he was born. It was like a cloud lifted and I suddenly saw daylight again, after months in the darkness.