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Mental Health support for pregnant women

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Redhead56 Tue 06-Apr-21 19:15:19

It took me three years to get pregnant my doctor was no help he just gave out temperature charts. When I did get pregnant at 31 I was so ill and basically spent the whole pregnancy on an antenatal ward. Constant vomiting pre-eclampsia oedema I was sometimes sent home at the weekend.

I was so nervous of losing my baby it just made the blood pressure higher. The placenta was breaking up so I was induced four weeks early. I had a long labour and a terrible forceps delivery. I was told after the birth I should have had a C section. In other words the wrong decision was made at the time. I only had gas and air this was 1987 so it wasn’t the olden days. I had my daughter 1991 hers was a precipitous birth, There was only time for gas and air but extremely quick and no barbaric forceps.

Antenatal classes should have included talks on emotions. It could have helped me and my anxiety throughout my first pregnancy.

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Franbern Tue 06-Apr-21 18:28:49

his is a new initiative. Think it is a great idea.
When I was pregnant with my first child in 1969, this would have been so useful for me.
I had married in 1964 and we had been trying almost from the start for a baby unsuccessfully. Not helped by statement by my hubbies Doctor treating him for early stage of MS, that 'It was highly unlikely he would ever be able to father a child'. I had various tests, and one did find some blockage in my tubes, but still not pregnancy.
Only when I made changes in my life and started telling people I could not have children, did I beciome pregnant.
Physically it was an easy pregnancy - mentally, it was hell. There was no way I could believe that I would give birth to a live baby. Even wandered round the grounds of the maternity hospital I would be going into to try to see where they put Mums whose baby had died.
Each month, after my ante-natal check, I would go direct to my local library to look up in reference books what could go wrong in the next month.
Nobody, not even my husband or parents, picked up on how bad I was.

Just to say, that my son was born on time, and healthy, and the following year I had a daughter, two years after that another daughter and finally, two and half years later twin girls.

Never had those problems with the other pregnancy - but I really did spend seven months of serious mental turmoil. At least, now they would (hopefully) be picked up and treated.

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