Night Terrors

[Annie1211]

Hey everyone I'm looking for some advice.

Good few years ago I went through a bit of a difficult time with work and ended up being off for 6 weeks. I started getting really bad night terrors.

This faded over the years. I changed jobs and everything is/was fine.

I am 6 weeks pregnant and last night I had a really bad night terror. Not had one in months! It led to a panic attack. I was sweating, shaking, heart racing. It's not good for the baby or myself. It's not like I can control it :(

Any advice or hearing from someone who suffers from this who did will be much appreciated. It's so horrible. Xx

Hi OP, congratulations on your pregnancy! I’m sorry to hear about your night terrors, it’s something I’ve suffered from off and on myself for quite a few years after a trauma in my mid twenties. I’m 29 weeks pregnant currently and still have them fairly frequently. I spoke to my midwife about this last week and she told me that whilst they’re upsetting, more vivid dreams or terrors are more common in pregnancy due to the increase in hormones, but shouldn’t be anything to be concerned of in terms of affecting the baby. She did suggest speaking to the GP, which is something I would suggest to you as well. If they become more frequent and are causing panic then the GP might be able to put you in touch with a good mental health team that can provide more practical advice and solutions.
I hope you get on okay - I know how disturbing night terrors are but hopefully it won’t happen too frequently and if it does there’s always help out there xx

Hi, I didn't have night terrors so can't give any advice about them but I did have panic attacks in all 3 of my pregnancies. Didn't have them at any other time in my life apart from them carrying on for 3 months after the birth of my 3rd. They got so bad I was scared to go to sleep and didn't seek help until I'd not gone to bed or slept for 3 days straight. I was prescribed Propanalol but I don't think you'd be able to get this whilst pregnant, I really don't know?

I think they are definitely hormone-related. I wasn't stressed about anything, was looking forward to all 3 babies but still had them.

Please see your gp and midwife to get help. The fear of having another is awful and as debilitating as whilst your in the midst of having a panic attack. Tell a sympathetic friend and take this time to read up on them, what causes them and coping strategies so that you can feel (partly) in control in case you have another one.

Thankyou to you both !

It's horrible eh! I will certainly speak to my gp ♥️

Hey, ive been suffering from night terrors/sleep hallucinations for 10 years and probably will forever due to being narcoleptic.
Its awful but unfortunately theres not really much that can be done to stop them and they are quite unpredictable. I always dive out of bed screaming and run out the room when I have them and all i can do is make sure the room is clear for if and when it strikes so that I dont trip over anything and land on bump. I dont think that initially panic is bad for baby unless you were in that panicked state all day everyday not just for minutes on a night x