My maternal mental health began when I regrettably informed close family members as soon as we found out we were expecting.<\/p>\n
Then came the comments “Be careful before 12 weeks”, “don\u2019t do this, don\u2019t do that”.<\/p>\n
Comments about how they’d look after baby when I was back at work, how they’d spoil baby… baby didn’t even have a heartbeat at this point and I was crippled with anxiety, fear and immense pressure that I was going to lose the baby or something would go wrong.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I felt a constant pressure to be happy and enjoy pregnancy… the cravings, the ‘glow’, the baby kicking (the anterior placenta didn’t help) etc.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_cta title=”But I really didn’t enjoy being pregnant.” _builder_version=”4.25.0″ _module_preset=”default” header_font_size=”28px” background_layout=”light” custom_padding=”||6px||false|false” border_radii=”on|12px|12px|12px|12px” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_cta][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.25.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.25.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.25.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]
My midwife asked as is protocol about my mental health but I felt this was purely a ticking box exercise.<\/p>\n
Asking “Have you suffered from anxiety before?” The answer was “No” so felt that shut down that line of communication.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Looking back I should have spoken out and sought help as I feel this ruined my pregnancy alongside the breakdown in close relationships I was also experiencing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I took these anxious thoughts, fear and stress into my induction.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, I ended up having an emergency C-section.<\/p>\n
I have been waiting 5 months to hear from the NHS regarding an afterthoughts meeting… when reaching out to my GP regarding flashbacks and potential PTSD I was sent a text with a number to call!\u00a0<\/p>\n
Happy Mums has been my lifeline of incredible support! <\/strong><\/p>\n Being able to open up about my birth trauma early on, pregnancy experience and everything that comes post-partum including relationships.\u00a0<\/p>\n At Happy Mums I have a voice, I feel validated and surrounded by strong beautiful women.<\/p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.25.0″ _module_preset=”default” background_color=”#ADAFAE” custom_padding=”20px|20px|20px|20px|false|false” border_radii=”on|12px|12px|12px|12px” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.25.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.25.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”] If you are experiencing a mental health crisis or feeling like you want to die, it\u2019s important to tell someone.<\/p>\n \u2013 Samaritans \u2013 Phone: 116 123 Email: jo@samaritans.org If you need immediate help, and in the case of serious injury, call 999 or go straight to A&E<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" My maternal mental health began when I regrettably informed close family members as soon as we found out we were expecting. Then came the comments “Be careful before 12 weeks”, “don\u2019t do this, don\u2019t do that”. Comments about how they’d look after baby when I was back at work, how they’d spoil baby… baby didn’t […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[13,16,17,14,15],"class_list":["post-623","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mum-stories","tag-anxiety","tag-birth","tag-maternal-mental-health","tag-mum-stories","tag-pregnancy"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/happymums.org.uk\/pl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/623","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/happymums.org.uk\/pl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/happymums.org.uk\/pl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/happymums.org.uk\/pl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/happymums.org.uk\/pl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=623"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/happymums.org.uk\/pl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/623\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":671,"href":"https:\/\/happymums.org.uk\/pl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/623\/revisions\/671"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/happymums.org.uk\/pl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=623"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/happymums.org.uk\/pl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=623"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/happymums.org.uk\/pl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=623"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Happy Mums provides peer support groups for mums and Mums-to-be to share how they really feel without judgement.<\/h5>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_2,1_2″ _builder_version=”4.25.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.25.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_cta title=”Join a Support Group” _builder_version=”4.25.0″ _module_preset=”default” background_layout=”light” custom_padding=”||6px||false|false” border_radii=”on|12px|12px|12px|12px” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_cta][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.25.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_cta title=”Support Us to Support Mums” _builder_version=”4.25.0″ _module_preset=”default” background_color=”#F7F77E” background_layout=”light” custom_padding=”||6px||false|false” border_radii=”on|12px|12px|12px|12px” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_cta][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.25.0″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column _builder_version=”4.25.0″ _module_preset=”default” type=”4_4″][et_pb_post_slider _builder_version=”4.25.0″ _module_preset=”default” include_categories=”all” use_bg_overlay=”off” border_radii_image=”on|12px|12px|12px|12px” posts_number=”3″ hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″ custom_margin=”20px|20px|20px|20px|false|false”][\/et_pb_post_slider][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.25.0″ _module_preset=”default” background_color=”#ADAFAE” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.25.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.25.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.25.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]
Staying Safe<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\u2013 Contact your GP and ask for an emergency appointment
\u2013 Phone 111 out of hours and they will help you find the support and help you need
\u2013 Contact your local Access Liaison Integration Service (ALIS) team \u2013 Phone: 03001239015 or freephone: 08006522865<\/p>\n