Do you think it is possible to prevent a repeat of PND ??

[longlegted]

I had v bad PND after dc1 and 22 months later had dd followed by PND which was better than first but certainly not ideal. Spent a lot of time crying and the first few weeks with intrusive thoughts I really want to TTC for no.3 but hate the thought of a repeat. I think that I am generally much happier than i was. what, if anything (particularly during pregnancy) can i do to prevent PND. Would really appreciate your thoughts. Thank you.

I'm not sure if there's a lot that you can do to avoid it, as I read somewhere that if you had it once then you are more prone to it in the future.

You can pre-empt it though and be prepared for it.

I was really bad after I had my DS and then was fine for the better part of four years. It all came back when I was pregnantg with my DD who was born last year and ended up on ADs when I was 33 weeks pregnant and seeing a psychiatrist for a good few months afterwards. I'm now pregnant again and am also terrified of a repeat. I stopped my ADs when I thought I was pregnant and am trying to get by without them by taking lots of exercise and trying to maintain a positive outlook, and realising that some things are outwith my control and as such there isn't any point worrying about them.

Talk over your concerns with your GP; they will keep an eye on things and monitor you throughout. My practice has a mental health nurse attached to the HV team, and I see her for chats regularly. It really helps med to stay focussed.

and try not to worry about it too much; easier said than done I know, and remembeer there is lots of support out there.

I didn't take medication either time. I probably should have, but was totally paranoid about doing anyting to hurt the baby. I would be interested in foods, i spent most of my pregnancies eating really badly and having sugar swings, perhaps a low GI diet would help??

My mum had very very bad PND after I was born and after my brother. I am 8 months pregnant now and terrified that it will happen to me too. I asked all the midwives and doctors if there is anything I can do to prevent it and found them totally useless. They have all said there isnt anything I can do and that they monitor people. But now I keep getting panic attacks all the time and cant stop worrying about it. I know that being prepared and not putting too much pressure on yourself when things go wrong can help but im still scared.

Do you know what sort of things caused it in the first place for you? Were you depressed before the birth of your first child? Did you have a traumatic birth?

Jennie, sorry to hear you are panicked about getting PND, it is NOT inevitable, i think that the things had helped lessen it the 2nd time round was thinking and imagining having a new baby, letting myself love her!!. With dc1 i didn't let myself love the baby at all because i was scared the baby would die! A bit extremem i know, but my mum lost a baby after me so i thought it might happen to me. I had a difficult first birth only because i was transfered into hospital to be sticjed and was then seperated from my ds for 1 1/2 hours. I would never let that happen again, i have been told since that you can insist that the baby stay with you.

Sorry a bit of a ramble really.

Hi, just read the op...

I had sever PND with ds 1 and was terrified when prgt with ds 2 that it would come back. I had a pessary -cyclogest? just after delivery and then for the next 2 days to regulate my hormones and I didn't experience the hormonal drop at all. I haven't had any intrusive thoughts (and I had many with ds 1) and are really enjoying it second time round. My psychologist suggested the pessary as she had had a few of her ladies try it and they had felt some benefit. Yes, it could be they were always going to be better without it but as it's natural and you can still b/f I though it worth a go. I also felt I was doing something to fend it off rather then sitting back and hoping it didn't return. I think this got me into a more positive frame of mind to start with.

I also analysed my own behaviour when I was ill with ds 1. I manically cleaned so we organised a cleaner so I didn?t have to worry. We'd thought about possible childcare should I begin to not cope. Dh spoke to his work and he worked at least 1 day at home per week (not always possible I understand)we planned not to travel with the baby or have anyone to stay whilst ds 2 was tiny and I planned to b/f but if it didn?t work out or I felt I couldn?t cope I would not b/f (I'm not turning this into a b/f, f/f debate I couldn?t bear ds 1 to be near me and that is an entirely different matter to the 'selfish mothers who chose not to...' debate)

In all, we planned for what we could using our previous experience. We took advice/help offered and I read a lot but had an open mind. It has gone so well I was seriously considering dc 3....! Something I would have never considered 2 years ago with ds 1. I would have been happy for anyone just to take him away.

I agree with the 'try not to think about it too much...' my psychologist is prone to saying that also as life can then become a self fulfilling prophecy.

I also exercise, make sure I plan 1 thing a day to do to get me out the house -even if it's just to pop to the shops to get a paper.

Write your thoughts/feelings down. This will get them out of your head. Don?t worry of they don?t make sense! I have a special book that I show dh if I can't talk to him about anything. It's all about getting the feelings out so they don?t go round and round your head.

Talk to your friends about your fears and make a deal with dh/p that he can say a certain phrase to you if he feels your behaviour is changing and trust him that he has your best interest at heart.

Have you tried hypnotherapy? You could have this safely during another pregnancy or even before you TTC. Can be very effective.

the pessary sounds interesting, was that on the NHS ?

Hi Longlegted, yes it was on the NHS. I would have it again...

I'm glad I came accross this post I too suffered with DS1 and began taking AD's approx 9 mths after the birth for 6 months. My issue was I thought to appear to be a good mother one had to not only look after the baby well but be Housekeeper of the Year with the most wonderfully cooked meals on the table by 6pm, to add to all of this pressure I was working full time too. Though everyone around me made the right noises I felt totally unsupported and mis-understood.
With DS2 I again suffered PND but it was easier and I didn't take any ADs and kept it to myself. The difference was I adopted a 'Fuck it all' attitude and chose to please myself.
I looked after my kids but if the house was a tip, 'fuck it'. If DH didn't like the state of the house or no dinner, my attitude was 'fuck it' and it worked a dream.
I'm glad to read about the pessary -cyclogest and will investigate this option as a house, town and school move is planned at around time of birth of DC3 so could do with something to take the edge off.

Bump

Hello
my friend had very bad pnd with her first child and had mild with 2nd and was totally fine with 3, 4 and 5! So I guess it does not always mean everyone who suffers from PND once will always suffer from it.
Good luck

treadmill - i was similar to you and had very high expectations of myself regarding housework etc. I'm not normally too obsessed, it seems that when i am pregnant it builds up until the last few weeks when i clean for england, then i've set myself up for a nightmare when the baby comes as i'm used to it all being perfect. It is definitely time to change my ways and learn to let go and be happy with mess around.

MiMao - thank you for your post, that is my hope! that 3rd time round (God Willing) will be fine