Bipolar diagnosis - guilt

[CraftyZebra]

Hi
I recently found out I was bipolar and pregnant. The mood symptoms were quite bad and came out a little before my pregnancy. I found out about a month in and am seeking treatment at present. The past few months have been filled with extreme highs and lows, paranoia and stress. I am feeling guilt with regards to how I have been feeling and the impact on the fetus. Is there anyone who has had experienced extreme anxiety and such during pregnancy with kids at present? Just seeking reassurance as I feel like I have done quite wrong.

thanks

You have no reason to feel guilty. You’ve not done anything wrong. It’s just who we are. (I don’t have children, so cannot advise on them, but do have bipolar2).

edit to add. You’ve done the right thing in getting help - and that’s an amazing achievement.

Hi I'm bipolar too.
There's no need to feel guilty, you can't change the past but you can focus on the future. Babies are born all the time when pregnancy or circumstances aren't ideal completely healthy. There's a little evidence that babies under acute extremely high levels of stress may be born with higher stress levels but only if the stress is in the final weeks of pregnancy and by extreme stress I mean mum being in warzones or terrorist attacks - imminent risk to life situations. In babies experiencing the same situations in the rest of pregnancy had no changes! There was a huge study into this following the 9/11 terrorist attack. Your distress is more harmful to you than baby.

What support do you currently have? Are you now on medication?

As you may have already been told pregnancy and the postpartum period can be very difficult when you have bipolar.
I was on quetiapine through pregnancy and then went on to breastfed on quetiapine and various antidepressants. I'm the end I had to go on to lithium and I couldn't breastfed on that. Unfortunately I did experience severe pnd and psychosis after having my daughter.
If any of this is something you would like to talk about I'm happy to do so, here or via pm.

There’s no reason to feel guilty, you didn’t do anything to cause your illness. Mental health issues are no different to physical health issues, they can be managed with the proper medication and support. The important thing now is that you engage with the support available, that can be difficult at first so well done on taking those first steps. Bipolar disorder increases the chances of post natal depression and puerperal psychosis so please do make the most of the care offered by your perinatal mental health team.

best of luck and congratulations on your pregnancy, I hope it all goes well 💐