I am new here after coming across APP recently. I was very unwell after having my daughter 3 1/2 years ago, and I have finally come to terms with that fact it was PP. Unfortunately this was missed by many professionals at the time, the midwives on the ward following the birth, the perinatal mental health team and GPs. I was never submitted to hospital and never properly diagnosed. It was lock down so things weren’t running as they should and also made it easier to hide how I was truly feeling as a lot of my paranoia was that my baby was going to be taken from me and there was a plot happening to do so. Because of this I never disclosed a lot of what was going on in my head but there were so many other signs they could have picked up on especially the week after that I was in hospital after the birth. My husband called the perinatal mental health team on numerous occasions begging for help for me and he knew something was truly wrong. I did once end up in A&E as my blood pressure was extremely high after not sleeping for +7 days, but again was fobbed off with diazepam and that I was going to be having a zoom meeting with the perinatal mental health team in 4 days time. At that point I honestly didn’t think I was going to survive till that meeting.
Now 3 1/2 years on I often think about wanting a second child but of course really worry about having PP again. Also the fact that I wasn’t diagnosed makes me wonder what my support would be if I was to get pregnant again. Does anyone know if it’s possible to be diagnosed later down the line? Who i could speak to now about what happened? Whether a plan could be in place for certain meds of anything was to happen again? And even if I make the decision not to have another child I do feel like I want answers to what happened to me in case I ever relapse for any other reason.
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Thank you for your post, I’m sorry you had such a hard time after the birth of your daughter and that things were missed. I also had a baby during lockdown so I can understand how you feel.
I had pp with the birth of my daughter back in 2016 and in 2020 I went on to have a son and I did not get pp.
I used the peer support service on here
Jenny_at_APP or Ellie_at_APP will be able to give you more information on that. I found it really useful when planning and going through my second pregnancy.
I’ll also put some links below on a guide for planning a second pregnancy and a video from tommys and a guide to counselling.
I had preconception counselling to discuss a plan if I did get pregnant with my local perinatal team and when I got pregnant, I was well supported during the pregnancy and post natal period.
Whatever you decide I hope you can get the support you need.
Thank you for your reply and the information you have shared I’ll look into it all with more detail. I think preconception counselling could be really beneficial for me.
Glad your second postpartum was a more positive experience for you, and great that you can support other now after your lived experience.
I'm so sorry to read more details of your experience and how much was missed, especially with your husband desperately trying to get help for you.
You should be able to ask your GP to refer you to your local perinatal mental health team, and a conversation with your GP about your experience might be helpful too. I've certainly spoken to women who were retrospectively diagnosed when planning a further birth and talking through their previous experiences. I know it can be so hard to express our thoughts and what we're going through at the time it's happening, and being unwell during lockdown restrictions must have made things so much more difficult.
I had a consultation with Prof Ian Jones when thinking about a second pregnancy - there wasn't a perinatal mental health team in my area at the time so I accessed his second opinion service in Cardiff. He was the first healthcare professional I'd spoken to in any detail about my experience of PP (I saw a general psychiatrist after being discharged from the MBU, but we never actually talked about what I'd experienced) and that in itself was so so helpful and validating.
The insider guide Rachel has shared contains a lot of helpful information, and if you'd like to have a chat about peer support (and more generally) do get in touch - email app@app-network.org and/or complete our peer support request form (app-network.org/get-help/pe....
I'm sorry you went through this. I partly know how you feel, as I was in the postnatal ward for some time while my baby was in hospital for ill-health. They saw me complain that I wasn't sleeping, they saw me acting erratically. Everyone could tell I was suffering. They sent me breastfeeding consultant after breastfeeding consultant, but not one mental health expert. It was clear to me my health didn't matter. My blood pressure started increasing, and still they did nothing. I even went as far as having a full-blown psychotic episode in the ward; they said it was due to sleep deprivation and sent me home. Worst time of my life. Luckily I was diagnosed eventually and put into a MBU, but things had to escalate a lot for that to happen, and it could have been prevented.
Something needs to be done. Postnatal wards need mental health staff, and they need to be aware of postnatal mental illness and its symptoms.
Get referred to your perinatal mental health team, and make sure you make a plan with them. I am sure they will agree to taking better care of you this time around. Now that you are healthy and know what happened, you can advocate for yourself.
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Homesick for another world 
How were you treated by others when you had PP? 
Virtual hand holding maybe?
