Even before BabyBoy and BabyGirl were born, I was teetering on the edge of depression. The thought of having twins terrified me, because that wasn’t in the plan. When they arrived, healthy and perfect, I tumbled headlong down the rabbit hole of postnatal depression into denial, doubt, panic, resentment at not being ‘normal’ and wondering whether escape was an option.
Tag Archives: Postnatal depression
False Expectations, Identity Crises and Denial
Reading some of the entries on this blog may give rise to the question, did I have postnatal depression?
Answer: yes. But although it’s over now (and I can truly say I am a happy mummy) the question remains, why?
Granted, I did have some of the risk factors associated with PND. These seem to vary from doctor to doctor but have been known to include: multiple pregnancy (hello me!), difficult delivery, type A personality, pregnancy following ART / previous miscarriage, history of depression, lack of support network, unplanned pregnancy, financial worries, overbearing relatives (hello grandparents), domestic abuse etc etc.
However, I think one of the biggest factors in my personal PND (in my non-medical opinion) was false expectations of parenthood.