Perinatal depression

This is my experience of perinatal depression.
Please note I am not a medical professional and this is only my experience and some may experience it differently.
www.pmhn.scot....
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[@heatherdickson561]

This made me very emotional. Not just as a mum but also as an expectant mum. With my first child, I never really thought pre natal was a thing and I felt most of my negative emotions and thoughts were related to hormones and stress at the time but looking back it was probably the stress that brought on the pre natal depression. Like you said I felt numb majority of the time and even when I saw the ripples in the bath as you described I did feel joyful but it was muted (if that makes sense). I felt at least 90% of the time I wasn't prepared or good enough for my first child to come into the world. I felt like a failure. It was only when after my son was born and got nowhere with the nurse that my health visitor got me assessed and the diagnosed with post natal depression. He's now 3 and the happiest wee boy ever despite everything. With my current pregnancy, I feel like I can't really express a lot of joy or happiness due to the Covid situation. I feel all my support has been stripped away and it's hard. I do get moments of happiness but I feel the pass quite quickly. Almost like snapshots. I feel happy when I go through the baby stuff and do some nesting but when I see it all there on the floor I feel really detached from it all. I feel like it's not real if that makes any sense. Yet I have a reminder every day it is very real. With this time round I'm thankful I have a mental health midwife I can phone when my mood really dips because I'm a high risk pregnancy due to mental health issues from the first and having that contact even on the phone had been a life changer and also saver. I'm grateful to them. I don't think there's a way to repay them for their help and I know they only listen on the phone but it still helps. I count myself lucky as not many people have that resource available but I will echo what you said. Get in touch with the midwife or health visitor and mention your feelings because they are valid.

[@parentingwithmentalhealthissue]

Thank you for sharing your experiences, Heather. I appreciate that. Hopefully others too will find it helpful. Glad your 3 year old is doing great now and wishing you all the best for baby number 2. This covid pandemic has a lot to answer for. I'm sure there will be other mums, maybe even dads too, who can relate to your covid experience. Take care.