Lately, Eastenders; an English soap on television severa l
times a week here,has had a storyline involving post-partum depression
and bi-polar disorder. A family member with inside experience of the
illness tells me it is well done. However, what I would really like to
see is one of these soaps use a story line and create public awareness
of another iĺlness that can affect someone having a child. We all expect a pregnant person, unless for some reason they did not want to have a baby, to be glowing with happiness. They can be apprehensive or fearful, but there is also that feeling of joy.
People expect pregnant people to be happy.
Imagine then, all the worries and fears becoming so overwhelming that they tip the person into depression and psychosis before the birth.
A much wanted pregnancy then becomes a nightmare. Drugs, with the risk of harm to the baby, are needed, offered and sometimes refused. Days that should be fun, exploring baby catalogues and getting things ready for baby are lost to the iĺlness. A first, longed for pregnancy ends in a psychiatric hospital. Who wants to go into labour from there?
Fear of losing the baby to care, of never being a proper mother, of always being ill, mar the joy of the birth.
Mother and baby units do a good job, but when every photo of the first few months is taken there, it is always going to be a picture of a bitter sweet memory.
There is no reason why another pregnancy should be the same, but the joy and magic of carrying that particular child has been stolen.
The person who explained this to me recovered and became an excellent Mum, but I remember looking for information or others going through something similar. It was not easy. Some women even hide their symptoms because they are so different from what society expects. You don't find leaflets in doctor's surgeries and few support groups exist.
Yet, for some women,this is the reality of pregnancy.
Image Credit » https://pixabay.com/en/pregnant-beach-sunset-mother-422982/ by DanEvans
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