Hi ladies!
I'm a member of 2 forums of Health Unlocked (one for several years) but this time I'm asking for help for my sister. I don't think she has post partum psychosis, but she has had 3 periods in 1 month, and she needs support that I simply cannot give. (My nephew was born Nov. 18, 2017).
PPP is the only post partum forum I could find on HU. Could my sister find support in this column??
Thank you so much!
Emmy
Hi EmmyLoop, thanks for your post and congratulations on the birth of your nephew!
PP is a severe mental health illness which strikes new Mums after giving birth & so I’m unsure we can help further on your query. Here is some info: app-network.org/what-is-pp/
There may be others here that can help & share their experiences if they have also experienced similar (along with mental illness) and I hope your sister finds some support. Perhaps she can chat to her Dr about her concerns?
All the best, xx
Hi Hannah!
Thank you for the link. Like you said, I am seeking ladies who might share her experience. She knows how to take care of herself and keeps in close touch with her doc. She and I both have PMDD (I'm one of the pioneers of Premenstrual Madness, a PMDD forum, under HU) and neither of us tolerates birth control well at all. This is significant because that is the only solution her doc is offering at this time.
Thanks again for all the service you provide!
Emmy
Hello EmmyLoop
Thank you for your post in support of your sister. I'm sorry to hear your concern and apologise that I can't really help. I have read from my notes that during my recovery from PP after my first son was born in November I still had not had a period up to March of the following year. Apparently I commented to my psychiatrist that God was punishing me as I had not had a period! I was very unwell at the time and said some very odd things 
After my second son was born six years later and I was again recovering from PP, I was admitted to hospital as an emergency with a secondary postpartum haemorrhage a month later. Again I was very unwell but eventually fully recovered from both traumatic events.
As you are in the US I'm not sure if Postpartum International at postpartum.net would be able to shed any light on your sister's condition, although as Hannah suggested I agree that your sister's doctor would be best for guidance.
Take care. Congratulations on the birth of your nephew and I hope your sister feels better soon.
Hi Emmy - it might be a good idea for your sister to visit some of the support groups for new mums available on Facebook? Eg groups like “The Motherload” or “The Baby Bible”? On these groups people ask questions like yours every day, and get so much support and reassurance! Basically we are rarely told (before birth) of all the things that can happen to us postpartum. Yes postpartum psychosis is one (I had only ever heard of Post Natal Depression, and PP as my family soon discovered was vastly different!). But there are a huge range of physical things too. In terms of bleeding (TMI alert) I don’t think I stopped bleeding for around 2 to 3 months after my son’s birth. It was very heavy at first, and then calmed down to more of a period-type bleeding. With the psychosis as well it was the least of my concerns at the time (!) but the MBU staff definitely kept an eye on it (this was on top of the postpartum haemmorage I’d had during the birth itself, so I was being monitored for iron levels etc anyway). So please encourage your sister to visit her GP about it. Has she had her 6-8 week postnatal check?
Hope this helps and congrats on the birth of your nephew!
Kat
Thank you ladies so much! My sis had a wonderful birthing experience and I'm just completely in love with him!
She has been in close contact with her doc who wants to put her on birth control; however, and this goes for both she and I, when we take birth control, we feel absolutely NUTS, like we're going to jump out of our skin. It's awful. So, understandably she wants to seek the counsel and empathy of ladies who have gone before her. We're hoping birth control will be the last resort. I have taken all your recommendations and consolidated them into an email for her. I know she will use them!
Emmy
Hi Emmy - sorry to hear about your sister. After birth women normally have lochia which is
the discharge which can continue for several weeks after birth. After birth some mums may feel run down, extremely tired and nervy. It is a new experience being a mum with all those hormones. The breasts start filling up and mums might feel uncomfortable. it seems your body is taking you over. The main thing for physical health is to ensure your sister has a good iron supplement with vitamins. B12 and B9 and vitamin C can help the absorption of the iron preparation. Avoid alcohol and hot spices such as mustard and chile. They are vasodilators and can encourage bleeding. It is important to have a healthy diet as you already know - iron rich meat such as beef, and lamb and vegetables such as broccoli, curly kale, are high in iron and vitamins such as B12 and the K vitamins which help clotting of the blood. Carrots are high in betacarotene along with apricots and orange yellow fruits and vegetables. They are very good for health converting vitamin a to a protective vitamin.
Sleep is all important - milk contains opioids and is good in a bed time drink to help sleep.
Help with household chores, and a bit of cooking, will help too, if wanted.
Your closeness is important but happy times and getting to know your new nephew and to make sure you are auntie there to help will help create positive family bonding.
Wish you and the family all the best.
Thank you Gadgrantgg for taking the time to answer my post. I will pass this information to her right away.
Angry at the way women are treated post partum
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