Pregnancy after PND

[Alwaysluciddreaming]

Hi all,

My first is 2 and a bit and I recently found out I’m pregnant again. A lot of thought went in to whether we would have another as I was very unwell with depression, anxiety and OCD after my first. I had crisis team and was nearly admitted then all the different services were great at pulling me back round again.

I feel very different emotionally this time round, I feel excited and happy which I realise now I didn’t feel at all with my first. I just felt scared and not ready and right from the beginning felt like I’d make a big mistake. This set me up for a very awful time after he was born. I feel so sorry for me back then! This time I really plan to accept all the help that is offered - last time I got stuck on doing everything myself.

Anyway, I know it’s been asked before but I would really like it if people could share their experiences of second babies after mental health difficulties with their first. Did you refer yourself to perinatal just in case even if you were feeling ok? Did you go and see the GP early on to explain? If it got you again, did you recover more quickly?

Thank you.

In your booking appointment they will ask you about any previous mental health during pregnancies
They may refer you themselves as a precaution.

Glad you're feeling better this time around though! Take it steady, pregnancy is hard!

Hi I'm pregnant with my second after post partum depression and psychosis with my daughter including an admission into a mother and baby unit

I'm under the obstetrician that specialise in mental health and have to contact details for two midwives that specialise in mental health. They put a referral into the perinatal mental health team too and had my assessment with them at 27 weeks. They have all gone through in detail what happened with my daughter and are really keen to put a plan in place so that if my mental health deteriorates after baby is born it won't get as bad as last time and I can avoid another admission. I meet my cpn from the perinatal team next week.
To conceive I had to reduce my medication from 3 to 1, I'm starting to get a bit low so we have already started to discuss the pros and cons of adding them back in and what my mood would have to be doing to accept them.

The referral to the Obstetricians occurred on the back of my booking appointment. I had two miscarriages before this pregnancy, with the first the referral to the perinatal team went in straight away but then I had to cancel it. This time around I asked that it didn't go in until after we had determined the pregnancy was viable so they waited until I had seen the specialist obstetrician. The obstetrician and the perinatal psychiatrist will work together to formulate a birth plan for me. I will have a 2-3 day admission after baby is born due to the medication I'm on and will be prioritised for a single room rather than a bed on a bay. As long as I don't develop any physical problems I'll be able to give birth in the midwife led unit. I'll get the full 28 day community midwife support and extra care from the HVs.

Thank you so much for your detailed reply. I really appreciate it. Congratulations on your pregnancy!