New to forum

[suzannah0]

Hello i had pp 4 months ago. My baby is almost 6 months and pulling himself to stand as i speak; hes gorgeous and doing so well. I have recovered well and soon to be discharged from community mental health. I will soon be visiting specialist doctors for planning future pregnancies. Ive hardly been on meds before so this is a little daunting. I really want to breastfeed if i can. With this baby i breastfed till 6 weeks.

[Mungomia]

Hello SuzannahO

Welcome to the forum

It's really good that you've found us as you will be able to find lots of other stories from women who have had pp and recovered, and have gone on to have further pregnancies.

I had pp 27 years ago with my first child but not with my second but it's really good that you have the opportunity to discuss with health professionals about your future plans and weigh up the pros and cons of different medications.

So happy to hear that you are feeling well recovered and are enjoying your baby's progress, 6 months is a really lovely stage.

Very best wishes

Val x

[suzannah0 in reply to Mungomia]

Thankyou. Good to hear your story

[Ellie_at_APP Partner]

Hi welcome to the forum! It's really good to hear how well you've recovered, that's really great to hear.

I just wanted to let you know some of the resources and support APP have for planning second pregnancies. There is a guide for pregnancy if you are at risk of PP here: app-network.org/what-is-pp/...

This should give you lots of useful info about things to think about when planning your pregnancy.

It's good you're going to be referred to a specialist team before planning your second. I also wanted to let you know that if you're in the UK there is a second opinion psychiatry service with Dr Ian Jones for women planning second pregnancies. You may not need it if you're seeing specialist doctors already but just for anyone else too who might look at this thread. Info is here: app-network.org/what-is-pp/...

Take care, and write on here for any advice, or information!

[mc80 in reply to Ellie_at_APP]

Hi there,

I had PP on my first pregnancy. He is now 14 months old, and I am pregnant again, with twins! (only 7 weeks gone) Do you know of any support services available in Ireland for someone in my situation. I don't have bipolar or never had any issues before I got PP.

Thanks

[Lilybeth Volunteer in reply to mc80]

Hello mc80

Welcome ...... good to see you here. Well done for recovering in such a short space of time. I had PP twice a long time ago and it was a longer road to recovery in those days.

I'm not sure about support services in Ireland but there are lots of mums here with helpful advice. It's not easy with a toddler to relax ..... but try and rest as much as you can.

Take good care of yourself. |I'm not sure if you would like to start your own post here so that mums can reply easily as you might be missed tucked in this thread?

We are all here to help.

[Ellie_at_APP Partner in reply to mc80]

Hi mc80

Congratulations on your pregnancy with twins! Wow that's exciting. How are you feeling? I hope you are well.

Do you have professional support? Is there a perinatal mental health team where you were? Did you get support when you were ill with your first pregnancy?

I am trying to find out if there are any support services in Ireland, maybe similar to APP. Is this the kind of support you meant? I will let you know what I find out.

I presume you've seen all the information on APP's website which I gave links to - pregnancy guide etc. I am sure even if it's written for women in the UK most of it will be relevant.

Take care, and I'll write back when I find out any more information

[Ellie_at_APP Partner in reply to mc80]

Hi mc80

There is an organisation in Ireland called Nurture, which you may have heard of. They support women with any perinatal mental health problems but I'm not sure how much experience they have of postpartum psychosis but I'm sure they could give you some support.

Their website is here: nurturecharity.org/

I hope that's helpful

Ellie

[suzannah0 in reply to Ellie_at_APP]

Thanks for the info

[Mims2014]

Hi,

Well done on recovering so quickly!

I developed pp in March 2014, was hospitalised when my son was 2 weeks, I recovered from the acutely unwell stage after another 1.5 weeks but I didn't feel fully myself until a year after and 2 months, when I finished meds.

I'm due again in July. Like you, I was initially keen to breastfeed again (could only do it for 2 weeks with my son) however I have now decided to bottle feed after first feed. You can take Haliperadol and quetiapine and breast feed, however some does transfer into milk and it's my personal choice not to breastfeed for this reason. My consultant also wants me to start low dose of one of these meds in pregnancy, however again I personally do not want to and will ask to take high dose of Aripriprizole on delivery and fingers crossed that will stop me getting ill. We all make different decisions though and meds in pregnancy and breastfeeding must be safe enough or Drs would prescribe.

Sally

[suzannah0 in reply to Mims2014]

All the best with your new baby

[Hannah_at_APP Administrator]

Hi mc80,

Welcome to the forum and congratulations on your pregnancy. The APP website should give you some good information and resources and I can see that Ellie is looking into whether there are local services or support which will be helpful for you too.

I had another child after having PP and found that planning and preparation were really important; there isn't a specialist perinatal service where I live, but I got good info from here and got some professional support when I needed it too. The good news is that I stayed well after my 2nd child, so I hope it's good to hear that having had PP once doesn't mean you will definitely become ill again. It is a time of risk though and I hope you can get good info and support around meds and feeding choices. There's lots of stories on here and I'm happy to share further info if it will be of use to you.

Please feel free to ask any more questions, all the best, take care, xx

[Hannah_at_APP Administrator]

Hi suzannah0,

Welcome to the forum and it sounds like you are at a lovely stage with your 6 month old, I remember it being a lovely age. Getting further information when thinking about another pregnancy after PP is really key I think, and as I mentioned above, I remained well after my 2nd child after PP with my 1st.

I accessed the APP Second Opinion Service mentioned by Ellie as I have no specialist services where I live and struggled to get MH input as I'd been discharged after my 1st child and had no other diagnosis. I would really recommend it, as I got a lot of information and support, and the write-up of the consultation was circulated to my GP, midwives and hospital, which was invaluable.

I chose not to breastfeed after my 2nd child, as I'd found this very difficult and had to abruptly stop when becoming ill with my 1st. So I don't have any information to share on meds, but know that I took a low dose of anti-psychotic on giving birth, and didn't have to consider feeding. This is something that your care team can advise on I'm sure.

Take care, and please ask any further questions if helpful to you, xx

[BronSyd]

Hi Suzannah,

Well done for coming so far in such a short time. I hope things only get better for you. I too was lucky to have a fairly quick recovery.

There are numerous factors to consider second time around. Others have given some advice and I'm sure the professionals will be helpful. I was very fortunate to be able to breastfeed both of my children on my PP medications so my response is focused on that. Sorry it's a bit long but I get quite passionate about breastfeeding. I know it can be a very touchy subject for some but I never judge others for the decisions they make based on their situation for me its purely about sharing information.

Things change all the time and I'm from Australia so different countries have different regulations so obviously you'd need to take the advice of your Dr. Also from my understanding there's actually very little research into anti-psychotic medication and breastfeeding so often it's just an estimated risk based on how much goes into an adult's bloodstream.

Here is a quick rundown of my medication. I took Epilim (Sodium valporate) as a mood stabiliser, which they had to monitor my son's liver functions but is suppose to be fairly safe to breastfeed on. I also took seroquel (quetiapine) as an anti-psychotic which they take note of possible over sedation but again is suppose to be fairly safe.

During my second very mild episode after my daughter was born I took seroquel again but a slow release form which is less sedating to you and baby. I was also prescribed risperidone when I found seroquel too sedating (but that didn't work for me) so that's also safe. I think they are finding more and more that medications are often safer than they once assumed. I also guess it is somewhat of a matter of weighing up risks and benifits.

The other factor to consider when trying to breastfeed is the night feeds. Often it is suggested that you will need a decent 6-8hr block of sleep thus you would either need to be able to express enough for night feeds or supplement with formula. Unfortunately both of these options have the potential to effect your milk supply.

I have an amazing husband who basically sat up while I was under the influence of seroquel, 'plugged in' my daughter for night feeds and then put her back into the cot. Fortunately as I picked up my PP symptoms very early second time around I adjusted quickly and was able to stop medication within a few weeks. I actually made the choice not to take medication till symptoms presented. I guess my relatively quick recovery the first time allowed me that luxury though.

With my son I had to basically re-lactate as I'd stopped breastfeeding for about 2 weeks while I was in the psych hospital. This was a long process of doing a combination of both formula and breastfeeding as well as constant pumping. After a while we got back into it and he was still feeding past 12mths.

I hope that I don't come across as bragging or a someone who thinks that everyone should be breastfeeding. It's more of me wanting to let you know that it is possible and I believe that having all the information to make your decision is important to being satisfied with the decision you make. It's always one that you can revisit if things change.

As someone else has stated it's a very personal decision based on your own situation. Weigh up risks and benefits not just for your baby but for you. It can have a significant impact on your mental health. Especially with the possibility of PP. The strain of having to be the sole food provider with little break early on. Although it is definitely possible to do a combination of bottle/formula and breastfeeding just sometimes takes a bit more time. Also consider how you will feel if you try but fail.

Saying all of this you have only just started your recovery so it's not really something you need to think about too much. But I remember this time as a time of reflection about things to do differently next time so I understand where you are coming from.

Good Luck.

Bronwyn.

[suzannah0 in reply to BronSyd]

Thank you very much. I'm also from Australia. I was originally.on 1mg of risperidone and the Dr said fine to breastfeeed but they didn't know how. They gave me a hotline which wasn't very helpful for my state of mind at the time. I could either express the whole feed in the morning and then feed or not feed for 10hrs. Did they say this to you at all? Anyway I tried against family's wishes and I went back to hospital coz I was too unwell still and ended self choosing 3mg as that had worked w an episode in the past. I now have access to a specialist in this area, after months of asking. I would like to know how other mums breastfeed. I'd love not having to express/wait if I don't need to. Good to hear both risperidone and quetiapine worked-these are the two meds they will look into. Gp thought quetiapine may be better but I haven't tried this medicine yet.

[Lilybeth Volunteer]

Hello mc80

I hope you managed to find support for yourself in Ireland via the Nurture charity website, which Ellie gave, and that you are well.

Take care.