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LJC1
Contributor

A mothers anxiety

Hi all,

I have another thread asking questions about postpartum psychosis but feel i didn’t cover majority of what I wanted to ask/say.

I am wondering if any mothers out there suffer from debilitating anxiety with their babies? I have three children (6,4 and 7 months old). After each baby I have experienced extreme anxiety over things such as my babies routine. I am not sure what exactly goes on with me but I become obssesive about how my babies routine must be perfect and anything outside that routine seems very scary. I have always had a fear of going without sleep which can lead to a psychotic episode ( I covered in my other post how I experienced a psychotic episode last year in November). It was my only episode I have ever had but it’s left me with a large amount of anxiety.

Are there any mothers out there who have experienced anxiety over their babies with things such as routine ? I seem to come good when they turn in to little toddlers (somewhere after 18 months old), but really struggle when they are babies. I had a traumatic birth with my first and have never really been the same since. He was born flat for 9 long minutes but is a thriving 6 year old now.

Basically I am after any experiences from mothers who struggle with anxiety while having a baby. Thanks!
4 REPLIES 4

Re: A mothers anxiety

Hi @LJC1,

Thank you so much for sharing your experiences with postpartum psychosis and anxiety that is very courageous. I am sorry to hear you had such a difficult experience with the birth of your first child that sounds really scary. So many mothers and parents struggle with postpartum mental health issues but it is rarely spoken about. It is not uncommon for mum's with postpartum anxiety to feel overwhelming anxiety about the little one's routine or health or many other things, I hope people are able to share some of their experiences with you here.

I'm wondering if you have hear of PANDA - Perinatal Anxiety and Depression Australia?

https://www.panda.org.au/

They have a helpline that supports new parents with mental health issues including post-partum psychosis. Ph: 1300 726 306

Re: A mothers anxiety

Wow tortoiseshell, thank you !

I have heard of them so will take a good read and see if there is anyone there who is willing to chat.

Thanks again

Re: A mothers anxiety

That's really great @LJC1 I hope they can be a good help to you Smiley Happy

Re: A mothers anxiety

Hi there @LJC1 - did you end up calling PANDA (Perinatal Anxiety & Depression Australia) at all? Some of their volunteer peer supporters are actually going to our guests tonight on the forums if you wanted to chat with them here. It will all be happening tonight over here on the forums - talking about about being a new parent and some of the struggles you have described here. We'd love to have you along - just head over to this thread at 7pm AEDT tonight .. Hope to see you..

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