Mental health during pregnancy...

[Mamahannah2019]

Hey!

I'm just wondering if anyone has experienced really bad mental health issues in the first trimester and everything still be ok with the baby?

I've been struggling a lot recently and my mental health has probably been the worst it's ever been. So naturally I've been worried about baby.

Can bad mental health/ anxieties effect the baby?

Has anyone been in a similar situation and can shed some light on any of this?

Thank you in advance

@Mamahannah2019 firstly I hope you're ok...
I lost my mum when I was 9 weeks pregnant which I found very traumatic, I didnt have a midwife yet so I rang the number from my letter and was crying to the lady in charge of booking appointments because I was terrified something would happen to the baby too. Then I had the funeral when I was 12 weeks, again very distressing.
But all has been fine with the baby, I'm 18 weeks now.
My midwife said whatever we are going through, the baby is quite resilient and doesnt get affected by what we are going through.
I hope you're ok and can work on whatever youcare going through x

@Mamahannah2019 the worry is understandable but I’ve been told the same by the midwifes as the PP, that babies are resilient. The way I’m trying to see it is that if stress and anxiety was detrimental to an unborn baby, then why would evolution have allowed women’s hormones to cause us to have such raw and heightened feelings during pregnancy anyway, regardless of what life throws at us.
I’m so sorry for your loss @biscuit13.
My first trimester trauma was that I had to put my dying mum into a care home, after I’ve cared for her for several years. I haven’t been able to visit her since and she’s unable to talk. I‘m 27 weeks now and baby girl seems ok. I won’t be able relax until she’s born though.

I had full blown panic attacks throughout my first pregnancy. Heart racing and about to explode, feeling like I was about to die etc. Baby was fine, literally zero issues. It's best to avoid feeling like that, of course... make sure your midwife is aware of everything that's going on.

@biscuit13 I am so sorry for your loss, I have also recently lost my mum, it's broken me and that added with lots of uncertainly and difficult family members has made this time very very stressful. Ive only told some close friends and my partner about this pregnancy because I'm just so scared of the worst happen after having the worst anxiety and bouts of extreme sadness.

Thank you for reassuring me with your own experience it's really helpful so thank you! Xx

@Babylifewife thank you so much for sharing your story I'm so sorry you're going through a difficult time too. Amazing news that baby is all ok, it's such a worry from the moment you find out you're pregnant isn't it!
Regarding hormones you're spot on there. I'll be reminding myself of that haha xx

@CoolNoMore I only have a few more weeks till my next appointment so I'm going to make sure I speak to them about how I've been feeling. Thank you for sharing your experience and it's reassuring to know that everything was absolutely fine. I hope you're feeling better now xx

As long as you're keeping yourself physically healthy then don't worry about the mental side of things affecting the baby. I was an absolute nervous wreck during my whole first pregnancy stressing about every little thing that could go wrong and my daughter is happy as anything.

@Girlmum91 thank you for replying lovely. I'm feeling sick and haven't got much appetite but I'm really trying to look after myself. I'm hoping to just focus more on myself and the positives from here. Cross fingers baby is ok as they're a very much wanted baby and I'm just so worried of the worst... xx

I have long term mental health problems and they have flared up from time to time during my pregnancy. Definitely reach out for help at your next appointment or earlier if you need.

I have stayed on my medication because we decided the risks of not being medicated outweighed being medicated but that those risks only kick in at quite extreme levels of mental illness.

It is true that mental ill health can impact on pregnancy and your unborn child but it really is in those tiny percentage of people that get really really unwell.

@Superscientist thank you for replying, I hope you're as ok as you can be. I'm really hoping everything will be ok. I just find pregnancy a constant worry and I need to be put on a googling ban haha xx

Yeah it's tricky, it's so easy to over-Google.

If you are able to do the regular things in life - eat, drink, sleep that's all your little one needs. It might be worth speaking to your gp things like cbt can be really helpful in these situations.

I'm doing OK, having a heads up that my mental health could be problematic has made it easier to manage. Is anxiety something new to you in pregnancy or is it more of an ongoing issue?

I didn't want to put too many details in my first post in case it came across as a one up-(wo)man ship but by extreme levels of mental health I meant that I could go 50-60h without sleep, not really be able to look after myself properly in terms of eating and drinking. Getting delusional thoughts and beliefs that can mean I don't have an appreciation of safety for myself. It's things like that take the toll on your physical health.

Remind yourself of all the wonderful things you are doing for your little one. Every time you eat and drink you are providing all the goodies they need to grow ever time you sleep you are letting your body rest and put its energy into developing this miniature human. Be kind to yourself just by being you they get what they need.

@Superscientist sorry I'm only now replying lovely. That's such a nice message to receive. You're so right and I need to think about that more often.
I've had points of really high intense anxiety throughout my life. There's certainly triggers but it's been horrendous recently.
Above many things I don't think the current situation with covid/ lockdown helps at all. It's taking a tole on even the most mentally sane people now isn't it.
I'm so sorry you've been going through that/ are going through that. And I'm glad the realisation has made it more manageable for you. I hope you continue to receive help and feel better for it. I wish I could do and say more as your message was amazing. X

Hey hun I have long term issues with depression and anxiety.

Honestly my first trimester I was up and down and crying on and off which I think was hormones going beserk (I broke out in a rash type thing the drs said can happen to some womens body's in pregnancy due to hormone changes). Best thing I did was talk to midwife about it. They won't push you to do anything you want to do but will reassure you about options such as medication, what nhs offers, groups to talk to etc.

Hopefully you can have people like family friends co-workers etc. You can chat with. I had a bit of a bad time about 2 weeks ago because I just wanted to meet my mum and have a cuppa. Now lockdown is starting to ease I have managed to meet her twice now and that has helped.

I've managed to stay off meds and monitor how I'm doing. Try and eat healthy, take vitamins especially vitamin d, keep busy with hobbies or housework, I've found meditation to be helpful. When the weather's nice try and get outside for a bit.

If you download an app like daylio you can input how you feel each day and also what activities you've done. Sometimes things like that are a good way to notice patterns and track things you may not have noticed, handy as well if you want to show midwife for example x