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Dear Mums,
Dads and Professionals,
As
a mum of two children I found it very frightening when I had postnatal
illness (PNI) and had no idea how to find support or help. This
charity has been created by mums who have all been ill and got
better. Hertfordshire Postnatal Illness Support is here to offer
you and/or your partner information, advice and support online.
Postnatal
illness happens to at least 10% of us. It is ok to feel tired,
overwhelmed and tearful in the early days as we refer to this
period as the 'baby blues'. However, when certain symptoms seem
to be persisting or worsen then you may have got postnatal illness.
In rare situations a mum may have a more severe form of postnatal
illness known as Puerperal Psychosis. It affects one in five hundred
women and this is what I had and I got better!
When
I was ill, I had symptoms that gradually got worse; anxiety, insomnia,
vomiting, fear of being on my own and terror of being with my
baby. It did not occur to me that I was ill. I thought I was a
bad mum who could not get her act together! So instead of telling
my husband or my family how I felt, I pretended everything was
fine. Please don't think you are a bad or mad mum, you are ill,
you deserve the best help possible. If you think you
or your partner may have postnatal illness the first thing you
can do is to contact your local GP, Health Visitor, and /or Midwife.
(Useful contacts can be found here)
They can offer you immediate help.
If
you want to talk to a Mum who has been ill and got better either
via e-mail, telephone or in a group setting then Hertfordshire
Postnatal Illness Support can offer you all of this! We also have
a team of Dads who are able to offer e-mail and telephone support
to ensure the dads' needs are not neglected.
All
Mums recover from postnatal illness no matter how terrible it
seems at the time. It does not last forever. It will pass.
Now let us
see how we can help you!
Best Wishes,
Charlotte
Wilmer-Barbrook (Chairperson)
To access
our services simply email us at mail@postnatalillness.co.uk.
Other contact information can be found
here.
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