Tag Archives: Peer support

Lynette’s story

Connecting with other women with similar experiences to mine has played a huge part in my recovery.

Lynette (Lisburn)

I had a traumatic experience when I gave birth to my twins in February 2020. This led to me missing out on our first bonding experiences but for the first few weeks I was okay and adjusted to life as a mum of two. Then, four weeks later, we entered the first lockdown of the Covid pandemic.

My partner was a key worker, so he kept working throughout. Without any visitors allowed, I became very isolated. I’d had so many plans for my maternity leave, such as going to groups and meeting other parents, but I couldn’t do any of that.

Losing my identity

My mood became very low and I started to feel anxious all the time. I also internalised a lot of my feelings and worried when people came to visit that they only wanted to see the babies. I felt like I’d lost a big part of my identity.

It all came to a head one day when I was playing with my twins and had the thought, “I could just disappear”. I knew then that I wasn’t okay and told my husband how I was feeling. He encouraged me to call the doctor. The first response I got from the doctor’s receptionist was, “Is this important?”. But I pushed forward and asked for help.

Early support is vital

After an assessment from the mental health team, I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety and prescribed medication to help with my mood, and I was referred to my local Maternal Advocacy and Support [MAs] group. It took me a long time to build up the confidence to attend, but as soon as I walked into the first meeting I knew I was in the right place.

Connecting with other women with similar experiences to mine has played a huge part in my recovery. There is no judgement and you can laugh, cry and giggle with women who know where you’re coming through. I have mum friends now!

I wish I had known about services like the MAs group sooner and shared how I was feeling at an earlier stage. I also believe it’s important that health and social care professionals understand how hard it is for new mums who may be struggling to seek support. They need to actively share with the mums the amazing services which could help them.

Find out more about the MAs project, led by MMHA member Women’s Resource and Development Agency (WRDA), on our blog or on the WRDA website.

If the content of this story causes you to think of anything that has happened to you or someone you know and you feel upset, worried or uncomfortable, please see our support page for a list of services that may be able to help.

Natalie’s story

I do worry for other women experiencing perinatal OCD. Awareness and understanding needs to increase among healthcare professionals.

Natalie (Barnsley)

I became a mum for the first time at the age of 17. The birth was a traumatic experience which ended with me having an emergency C-section. Afterwards, I would constantly think that I was going to lose him. So much so that throughout the night, every 30 minutes, I had to check that he was okay. Behaviour that left me exhausted and even more susceptible to intrusive thoughts.

My health visitor picked up on how I was feeling and advised me to see my GP. But the doctor misdiagnosed me with postnatal depression and only offered me antidepressants. I didn’t take these because I didn’t feel depressed. I wasn’t offered any other support.

Constant intrusive thoughts

Thankfully, with the support of my husband and family, after several months my intrusive thoughts began to subside. But six years later, following three miscarriages, similar thoughts began to overwhelm me when I became pregnant again. Every day I couldn’t stop thinking that I was going to miscarry again, and I constantly feared for the safety of my unborn baby and my son.

One day, my husband returned home early from a work trip to find that I’d barricaded all the doors and windows so no one could get in. I thought I was just being safe, but he saw that I needed help and contacted my local perinatal mental health team. They diagnosed me with perinatal OCD [obsessive compulsive disorder].

Early intervention is vital

Following my diagnosis, things got worse before they got better. I became suicidal and my husband had to take time off work to look after me and my son. I couldn’t function. It was a very scary time. But after I started CBT [cognitive behavioural therapy] and gave birth to my daughter, my symptoms started to ease. I was able to bond with my daughter and started attending peer support groups, which I found so helpful.

Today, things are so much better. But I do worry for other women experiencing perinatal OCD. Awareness and understanding need to increase among healthcare professionals, because early intervention is vital to good outcomes. I’d also like to see better support for family and friends, so they can spot warning signs early and know how to support someone going through this.

Perinatal OCD is an incredibly difficult condition to deal with, especially if you don’t get the right support at the right time. But I do want others to know that with the support of family and friends and maternal and mental health professionals, things can and do get better.

For more information about perinatal OCD, visit MMHA member Maternal OCD’s website.

 

If the content of this story causes you to think of anything that has happened to you or someone you know and you feel upset, worried or uncomfortable, please see our support page for a list of services that may be able to help.

Beyond Peer Support: Twitter and Perinatal Mental Health

By Laura Wood, mum with lived experience who campaigns for better perinatal mental health, @cooksferryqueen

Laura has created a Twitter tutorial to help professionals working in the sector to make the most of Twitter for perinatal mental health. Here, she blogs about her story and how online peer support has helped her and others.

A month or so after my son’s traumatic birth in February 2014, I unravelled quite suddenly, and I had no idea what was happening to me. I was experiencing flashbacks, violent intrusive thoughts, and suicidal impulses. I was completely all over the place, and I was terrified. I was aware of postnatal depression, but I also knew that I wasn’t depressed. Continue reading Beyond Peer Support: Twitter and Perinatal Mental Health →