Hi, my partner suffers from bipolar and has recently got pregnant. We are really happy but very concerned about what could happen. We are trying to weigh up if we should have the baby or not as my partner already has 2 boys and we don't want them to be affected.
Has anybody felt the same way?
Hi alistairjlewis
Welcome to the forum and thank you for posting. You must have so many mixed emotions right now, I’m really glad you’ve reached out here and hopefully you’ll find some helpful shared experiences.
I had postpartum psychosis after the birth of my first child in 2012 and went on to have a second child in 2016, fortunately without recurrence of PP. It was a really difficult decision, whether to try for a second child knowing there was a high risk of having PP again. My main concern was the effect on my older son if I was poorly again so I do understand that fear. Family planning and those decisions are so personal and can be so difficult with all the potential risks and factors to take into consideration. Everyone’s experience is so different and unique to their circumstances – you both have to do what feels right for your family but looking for information and shared experience to help with that process can be really important I think. Was your partner unwell after her previous pregnancies? Have you discussed things with your partner’s GP or psychiatrist at all yet or is it very early days? If you’re in the UK you should have access to support from a perinatal mental health team.
Sorry if this is the kind of information you already have and are already weighing up, but I wanted to share APP’s insider guide for planning a pregnancy when at high risk of postpartum psychosis, just in case any of the information is helpful: app-network.org/what-is-pp/...
Sending you both very best wishes,
Jenny