I experienced severe post partum psychosis. I was hospitalized for 2 months my daughters first year of life and it took me years and many many hours in therapy and on medication to recover. My daughter is now seven and we’ve adopted our son and I’m starting to titrate off of medication.
I never thought I’d want to get pregnant again, but now I’m thinking about it again. I know the chances of experiencing ppp are high, but maybe it would be easier to treat with knowing about it and proper support?
I just want to see if I’m crazy for even considering it.
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Cookinggal
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Hi Cookinggal! Congratulations on your little girl and adoption that’s amazing! My daughter is only 9 months old but we’ve decided if we have more children it would be through adoption not naturally. (Which is why it’s so lovely to read you adopted!)
I have been discharged from the perinatal service this week and my nurse said don’t let it put me off. As soon as I fall pregnant again (if I choose to) I’d have that support. And I’m sure that’s the same for every perinatal service wherever you are!
I’m still unsure myself but like I say she’s only 9 months old!
I’m sure it would be easier, knowing the signs and having support but totally understand it’s a difficult decision to make! If you feel the desire to get pregnant I’d say go for it!
I wish you and your family well whatever you decide x
I'm sorry to hear of your struggles with PP. Whether or not to have another child of your own is such a personal choice.
I can only tell you about my experience. I had PP back in 2002 and was in hospital for a month until they could get me in the MBU. I was then in the MBU for about 3.5 months and did not come off all my medication until my son was 2 years, 2 months old. It was a long hard struggle and I felt robbed of the early days with my son as he was not with me for the first month of his life but I was desperate for another baby.
We went to see the psychiatrist who had treated me and she gave me my estimated risk of suffering from PP again and ways in which my risk could be reduced. I was not allowed to do the night feeds for the first 2 or 3 months and I took prophylactic medication from the day my second son was born. I was very lucky as I remained well.
I was never offered counselling for PP. I don't think this was offered back in 2002 but having another baby was very healing for me. It made me realise how unwell I had been the first time and how none of it had been my fault and I 'd done my best at the time.
I wish you well while you look at your options. It is so hard to decide what to do, sometimes you just have to follow your heart but just get all your risk factors and other facts together before you decide.
It is a very personal decision at the end of the day, I can relate my experience, but I think it was a good idea to post here as you can get feedback both from mums that went on to have other babies and those who didn't.
I had pp in 2018 after the birth of my daughter, when I was discharged from the community perinatal team my psychiatrist told me, it's early days at the moment, but try not to let this weight too much on your decision to have a family the size you want it to be. Those were wise words, at the time I could not think of having another baby and it was like that for a couple years more still.
In 2021 we got pregnant again and the support for us as a family was there from the beginning. My pregnancy was closely followed up and luckily I escaped pp but did experienced some depression that was treated at home with therapy and medication.
If you are considering another pregnancy, do talk to your doctor and ask for a preconception counselling chat with a perinatal psychiatrist. Is a good opportunity to ask questions, I had loads in my mind, and it can hopefully take some uncertainty out of the decision.
Take good care, do let us know if you have further questions, I wish you all the best
Thank you for posting. It's such a difficult decision, deciding whether or not to try for further children after experiencing PP, and as others have said, such a personal one.
I had a second child in 2016 after experiencing PP with my first in 2012. We always wanted more than one child and I too was told not to let it put me off... There's a lot to consider and ultimately I'm sure you'll reach the decision that feels right for you and your family.
Accessing preconception counselling and just talking it through and finding out what support would be put in place for you would be a great start, as Maria has suggested. APP's insider guide for planning pregnancy when at high risk of PP is something I found really helpful - app-network.org/postpartum-...
Know there is support out there if you did decide to have another. If you're in the UK, you would be supported by a perinatal mental health team. There wasn't such a team in my area when I had my second son but I had good support in place both from family and friends, and professionally, and it was a very different experience to having PP hit out of the blue with no idea what was happening. It was also a different experience just for having had a baby before. With plans and support in place we decided if it did happen again, we knew what to do and what had worked the first time, so felt reassured it would be picked up and treated very quickly. Fortunately I stayed well and like Redtap, it was a very healing experience for me.
I hope writing here and reading others' experiences is helpful. Do feel free to ask any questions.
I haven’t decided myself yet (I’m 95% no, but my baby is only 7.5 months old, so there is the smallest chance I’ll change my mind). It’s worth looking at the research though, as well as hearing others’ stories.
One 2019 Australian study published in the Journal of Marriage and Family found that while maternal mental health decreases after the first baby, it eventually finds its way back up. But after two babies, it’s much more likely for maternal mental health to go down and stay down. Not the case for everyone of course!
HiAs youve read having another child after PP is a very personal decision. In my experience I had PP in 2019 and my second child I had last year with no reoccurrence. I was told my risk was 50/50 but it was likely more as my mum has bipolar.
When my son was 2.5 I began to consider whether or not to have another child. For me I needed longer to fully feel recovered and prepared for the possibility of becoming unwell again. I also carefully considered the impact of becoming unwell may have on my older child.
During pregnancy I had amazing support from my community midwife and perinatal cpn. I chose to remain unmedicated and opted for a planned induction. After birth I was told my first 6 weeks were considered critical but I remained well.
My daughter is 13 months old now and our family is complete.
All the best for you going forward, whatever decision you make
Hi as the others have said it’s a very personal choice but I thought I would share my experience . I had my first daughter in 2018 and when she was 3 months old I started to struggle with sleeping when we were away on holiday and I would just constantly watch her to make sure she was breathing, I wore myself down and one night I had an episode where I thought I was dying and I could sense dead people taking to me, I then thought I was on life support and that they were going to turn it off. Of course all the was made up and it was put down to a panic attack but now looking back at it I think it was a mild case of PP. I wish now I had googled it more and spoke to more professionals but anyway I gave birth to my second daughter in 2023 and straight away I wasn’t right and then 3 days after I had another episode thought dead people where talking to me, thought I was getting a gift from god and more strange thoughts. I was seen my the perinatal team but I still wasn’t diagnosed with PP and it wasn’t to another episode 5 weeks later and I was admitted to hospital that I was diagnosed with PP. I was always worried the second time round that I would fall ill again and we tried to put safeguards in place and part of me wishes I had known about PP but this may have put me off having more kids and I’m so blessed to have a second gorgeous daughter and a sibling for my older daughter. Anyway there is no right or wrong answer and you just have to do what’s right for you and you’re family. Take care.
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A second child after post partum psychosis? 
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