Post natal psychosis

Hi and welcome, @Jodstaar . It's good you've joined.

I'm sorry to hear you've suffered post natal psychosis twice now. I'm not a mum myself but I hope some mums who have experienced this will come along.

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Hi @Jodstaar and welcome to the Forums!

I've never experienced post natal psychosis myself but I had a friend who went through it and I know how scary it was for them.

I think it says a lot about you as a person and a Mother that even after experiencing it once you still had the courage to have a second child. I've heard for a lot of people it can deter them from growing their family even if that is their dream.

Hoping you find some others who can share in your experience more,
- periwinklepixie

I experienced post-natal depression... gosh... almost 30 years ago now... but not psychosis.

When my eldest was 6 months old I packed up all his things and took him for his check up at the maternal & child health centre and told the midwife I was leaving him there because I wasn't a good enough mother and he deseved better. I'd been a mess since about the four week mark and it had been a slow and steady build to the point where I "knew" the baby needed to be given away.

I didn't even talk to the husband about it, just packed up the kid for surrender. My mum lived interstate and most of my friends at the time were not parents (or had much older kids) and I was very isolated. My GP hooked me up with some great support and after a month or so on the right meds I was shocked at how skewed my thinking had been.

When we fell in with baby number two I made sure I had a network in place of other mums from playgroup etc and waited for the fall. That time it took nearly a year to take hold, but when it did I didn't leave the house for 6 months. Even after I started feeling ok in my mind again I couldn't leave the house without severe anxiety - then we got me my first mobile and that seemed to give me the layer of security I needed to get on with my life.

Whenever anyone I know of has a new baby I try to share my experiences with them.. about how I thought and felt, to reassure them and make sure they don't keep it all to themsleves like I did.