r/MentalHealthBabies

After being a fence sitter for a long time, my partner and I (30F) decided to try for kids. I got pregnant in the first month, which was not what I expected due to some health conditions and I’m feeling very scared and overwhelmed.

Having a kid might be nice and I think my partner would be a great parent, but I’m suddenly paralyzed with all the different things that could go wrong and something that I found I can’t wrap my head around is severe autism or disability. It’s quite possible I have undiagnosed autism myself, which has made me start to worry more.

I grew up in not great circumstances, and while my mom says having kids is the best thing ever, I have vivid memories of her anger, depression and rage at my actions when I was younger. I grew up very fast and I’ve had to be a caregiver for others in my life before.

Suddenly, now that I’m pregnant I can’t stop thinking about what that would mean if I had a child with severe autism or other intense special needs and whether I’d be able to meet those needs in a selfless manner. I grew up next to a family with a son who had severe autism and had very violent episodes...

Thinking about that now with the potential of becoming a parent makes me stressed and anxious. I don’t know if I could bring a kid into the world, knowing that I wouldn’t be able to handle that appropriately.

I’m only 5 weeks and am crying all the time and have had very intense depressive periods where I think it would be better if I wasn’t here. I’ve already scheduled an appointment with my therapist but am curious about everyone else’s experiences.

I know I have access to an abortion, but I feel like if I have one now I could risk hurting my relationship and would likely close the door on having kids permanently. I feel like a failure for feeling this way when I know others desperately try for a kid, meanwhile I’m terrified of the life I have built for myself being entirely ruined.

im a 23 year old first time mom and im looking for a bit of advice/reassurance since this is all totally new for me! I’ve been on prescribed adderall for adhd since I was 18 (5 years or so) and when I say it changed my life that’s an understatement. I spent the first 18 years of my life believing I was born defective or with something missing that everyone around me seemed to have already figured out. Like all my peers got this life handbook and they forgot to send it to me. I obviously struggled in school with restlessness, inattention, boredom, defiance, etc. and made a lot of really poor choices early on in my life regarding drugs and alcohol due to low impulse control. The biggest thing I’ve struggled with is emotional regulation throughout my life. I’m emotionally intelligent and aware, but I’ve never had the ability to call on my skills in the moment when I’m unmedicated and due to that, my personal relationships struggled severely until I was diagnosed. All this to say, being unmediated is a massive hinderance in my daily life. I found out I was pregnant about 5 days ago, and made an appointment with my psychiatrist to talk about meds. Her stance was that she’s willing to prescribe me them under the approval of an OB, but not without (seems pretty common and reasonable). I’m worried that 1. My OB won’t sign off on it or be educated on the subject and 2. That im doing something wrong by remaining medicated. Any and all advice, anecdotes or anything at all is so appreciated ❤️

Currently 35W with first baby, partner (M39) and I (F34) have been together just under 2 years. Pregnancy was a surprise however we had wanted to start trying due to age and expected fertility issues. Living in separate cities (BNE - I own unit and GC - he owns townhouse) with a plan for my partner to take time off to be with me in BNE when baby is born (still do LDR in lead up), and “make a decision” after that.

I became horrifically unwell with HG and crippling anxiety and depression which caused admission to a psychiatric ward. Due to that and the fact I couldn’t work and pay for my unit (and we didn’t know how long this would go on for), I rented out my unit and moved in with him. My job is still in BNE and I’m back at work before mat leave.

I have no family or friends here and generally strongly dislike living here. I am miserable and am so worried about the isolation on maternity leave when my partner goes back to work. Due to my “concerning behaviour” including begging for his consent to get an abortion in T1+T2 (he said he would never speak to me again and my parents wouldn’t either) and posing we put the child up for adoption, he does not want to commit to moving to BNE, selling our places and combining finances (so we only have one mortgage) etc. He has lived his whole life here, his job (teacher), family, friends and community are here.

He has said we need to put the needs of our child first - and moving to BNE where we would be in a shitty house (due to what we can afford in current market) in an outer suburb when we are in a nice house is a huge risk. We also don’t know what school he will get placed at which could mean a huge commute when the commute is currently 15 minutes for him (mine is 2h per way when I go back to work and I am not leaving my job).

I realise we are in a privileged position with a baby on the way and are on the property ladder however does my happiness have to be sacrificed moving forward as he doesn’t want to entertain the idea of moving as it’s not “in the best interests of our family”? I feel I can commit to 6 more months here but after that I need to get out, I hate it. Please help, I am desperate. Everything I read points to a compatibility issue which I agree but we have a child on the way and I am not being a single mother when I didn’t want to proceed with the pregnancy.

We are trying for our third and final baby starting in June. I wasn’t on antidepressants with my first two pregnancies so I’m not sure what to expect. My doctor just told me to take them until I get a positive pregnancy test and then we will discuss options. Google says it’s fine and the risk is extremely low. My own gut says I should stop but I worry about my mental state if I stop. What’s your experience? I’m on 300mg and have been since February 2024. I had my first baby in 2019 and second in 2021.

I’m an ADHD mom-to-be, and I (perhaps like many of you) was researching and looking through every possible Reddit post I could find on Adderall and pregnancy.

I’m currently just short of 12 weeks pregnant. My primary care doctor abruptly stopped me on my medication (would not refill it due to pregnancy) about 3 weeks ago, which as you could imagine was a disaster. I was on 30mg IR daily. I’ve been on this medication on and off since 2014 (majority of that time has been on), and have been on it for the past two and a half years consistently. After abruptly stopping, I was severely depressed, anxious, spent many days uncontrollably crying, almost completely nonfunctional and it was just stressful and awful. Luckily, I was able to get in relatively quickly with a psychiatric CRNP who restarted me on my medication 5 days ago. After talking it through with her we came to the decision to try to just drop the use and/or doses down— so like 3-4 days per week at either 20 or 30mg. She said I could stay at the 30, but I was cool with reducing.

Today, I had my first appointment with MFM (I have lupus with a miscarriage history due to being undiagnosed/untreated during those past two pregnancies). The topic of the Adderall came up and I told her about my PCP abruptly stopping this medication, to which she replied “Well that’s not good and should never have happened”. We had a little talk about my 2 weeks/symptoms being unmedicated, and she reassured me and said “You’re perfectly fine to keep taking that, and you can stay at the 30mg, that is not an issue at all”. She said that there is virtually no risk at therapeutic doses of prescribed medication of low birthweight, preterm birth or birth defects; there is a *slight* risk that the baby may be a little irritable after birth, but if I am breastfeeding that should correct (and would correct over time regardless).

She also said that she would recommend continuing to take it every day. I do like an off day here and there, so I’ll still do that, but essentially I don’t need to struggle with trying to reduce/restrict, and that the consistency would be better for me and baby anyway rather than peaks and troughs that would arise with restricted use.

This helped put my mind and heart at ease SO much, and I wanted to share with this community because I of my own experience navigating this— obsessively researching, feeling shame, guilt, anxiety, paranoia, etc. In my case, all of this felt ten times worse because of how my PCP handled this situation. So if you are in any sort of similar situation, I want to encourage you to find opinions by doctors and professionals who are specialists/experts.

Pregnancy aside, I’m happy to again be under psychiatric care for my ADHD because in general over the past couple of years I’ve experienced and internalized a lot of misunderstanding from my PCP when it comes to ADHD, and more harmfully flat out JUDGMENT and sideways remarks about stim meds/Adderall from her nurse. It’s very clear to me now that I should not have tolerated that for as long as I had.

But that’s that! Just wanted to contribute to the wealth of reassuring info and advocacy for my fellow pregnant ADHD peeps. Sending good health and love to the mommas in this community 🤍

Anybody ever been on vraylar / effexor / gabapentin for severe anxiety / depression and successfully gotten pregnant and had a healthy baby? My psychiatrist says its fine, but i’m anxious lol. I also have an Rx for as needed Ativan, but can absolutely do without that med. The vraylar / effexor / gabapentin are non-negotiable for my mental health, though. TIA!

I am currently 13 weeks pregnant, this is my second attempt. Last year I was pregnant with twins. Lost them around 16 weeks. Didn't have a miscarriage. Their heart stopped. Got to know after a week in the scheduled ultrasound. Had to do a medicine induced delivery and then D&C procedure. This year I got pregnant. Single fetus. Everything seems fine every appointment. Have scheduled ultrasounds after every four weeks. But I keep getting anxious that their heart would stop and I wouldn't even know due to the ultrasounds being so far apart. How can I get rid of feeling like this. I want to enjoy the experience of this journey. I work full time and also read on my kindle, watch Netflix, and spend time with my family. I try to keep busy. But my mind still goes there.

Anybody have taken abilify during pregnancy?

Im on 15mg.. and i have to be on it…

TW: pregnancy loss, restrictive ED relapse,
Mental: major depression. OCD, Adhd, Anxiety, agoraphobia, Eating disorder, medicated for most of these, also some physical health sisus

I forgot to put in my fertility tracker my last period. I use it for period tracking sporadically and generally just use it to record my weight. I know i’m late though. Occasionally I will have a super light period around this weight but never fully lost my period in the 20 years of an ED. I am in the middle of a bad relapse and am also having other medical issues that make it so I can’t keep attending my college at the moment let alone work. My partner is still not working in the field he paid an arm and a leg to go school for, he doesnt make enough to support both of us. I’m trying to get onto SSI for physical and mental reasons.

What do i do if I am pregnant? The weight I would gain, the damage i could do to my unborn child by not having the strength to not engage in ED behaviors. The post birth weight and losing it all. Abortion isn’t sn option for me, not because its illegal here or any prolife bullshit. I’ve lost 3 pregnancies and i mean, this could just another on that list but what if i don’t? What if I can finally carry a child to term. I personally could not do an abortion unless it is necessary, like ectopic, childs quality of life would not be good to bring a child into the world, like things that will be harmful. Sometimes I think if i was in a tragic accident while pregnant and it was me or the child, I would chose the child.

How do i deal with all this uncertainty whithout my ED? I have a therapist and a psych, both of who are not aware of my ED because I have chosen to keep that private. How much could i hurt my baby by restricting before I knew I was pregnant? I have cut down a lot on drinking but I also am a smoker, i would find away to stop ASAP. I rely on CBD/THC tincture for my chronic illness that causes debilitating pain, would i be able to continue do i have to stop? How to get myself to be able to eat enough for a healthy baby.

I know ya’ll have been here please share your wisdom and things I need to know. I’ve been freaking out. I was going to wait til the end of the month and test then after the wedding we go to in case its just super late (haven’t taken anything that would throw off my cycle). I have 2 tests. Should. I take it now or in the morning and then to be sure, if negative, after the wedding as well?

I don’t want to recover but advice on how to be healthy enough to not hurt my baby is very welcome. I know this isn’t just ED but i know a lot of ya’ll are parents. I’m really scared. We could lose our place because of the baby if i am pregnant.

I don’t have much in savings, we have a joint account through my bank. I don’t know what he currently has in his personal account and he doesn’t know mine which is probably very much lower than his. I have 250 in emergency money of my own, thats not alot.

I wasn’t sure where else to go with this. Please help.

(Sorry if this is against the rules rules, if it is feel free to to remove it and apologies)

On therapy: My therapy currently focused on a different issue i am having and i need it to be able to function it also helps with my ED without my sessions being focused on my ED. I’m in trauma therapy

Does anyone have experience taking Prozac while pregnant? I’ve been taking 20mg daily for about 9 months for anxiety (no depression). It definitely makes things easier but not essential for my day to day.

I am 7 weeks pregnant (4th pregnancy) and my OB has advised me to keep taking it as it is “low risk” but included that those “low risk” items are heart defects, autism, and withdrawal. But that really scared me even though the risk is low, low risk is still possible. Does anyone have experience with this? I feel like I’ve read all of the old threads out there, websites, etc. I was not Prozac during my previous pregnancies, I did have anxiety but manageable. any input is appreciated!

Is anyone able to share experiences regarding consistent hydroxyzine use during the first trimester? My psychiatrist has assured me it’s safe, but my midwife has advised caution. It’s left me very confused and nervous about the doses I have already taken. TIA!

Hi everyone I’m usually a reader on here, never post but I’m so hopeless that I can use some guidance. I’m currently 18 weeks pregnant and my anxiety has sky rocketed in the past week. I’ve seen my phycologist 3 x and I’m Not offered anything but Zoloft which I know my options are short while pregnant. But if I have it super bad can’t they make an exemption and let me worry about the risk? I have crying spells and get anxiety attacks at random times of the day I’ve been depressed wanting to rot in bed and mind u I have other kids to attend to. I’m so confused and sad as to what to do next.. idk how to help myself if doctors aren’t helping me. Would the hospital help me?

Just wanted to share a part of my journey 🤍

Before pregnancy, I was on 6mg of clonazepam. With guidance from my doctors, I gradually reduced to 2mg, and then slowly tapered to 1.75mg from 6 weeks all the way up to birth.

By God’s grace, my baby came out healthy and well, with no withdrawals.
I’m still on a slow taper now — taking it one step at a time.

This wasn’t an easy journey. It was filled with fear, anxiety, and moments where I questioned everything… wondering if I was doing the right thing, worrying if I was harming my baby.

But I wasn’t alone. I had the unwavering support of my husband, my doctors, and so many prayers that carried me through the hardest days.

To any mama out there struggling with anxiety over medications — you’re not alone. Every journey looks different, and sometimes doing your best means making the hardest decisions with the right support.

Holding space and praying for all the mamas walking this path 🤍

Has anyone taken Xanax and trazadone throughout their entire pregnancy and your baby had no issues? I’m 32 weeks pregnant and I’ve been on Xanax for almost 10 years and trazadone 4 years. I was on 3mg of Xanax daily and 200mg of trazadone. I have since tapered down to 1mg of Xanax and 100mg of trazadone. My ob/gyn told me not to cold turkey and to just try to taper down as much as I could and my high risk maternal fetal medicine doctor said the same thing. This was an unexpected pregnancy (I was told I could not have kids) and I feel like such a failure and a complete piece of crap cause I do not want to put my child through the pain of withdrawal. The guilt and fear make me more anxious which doesn’t help with trying to lower my doses. I get ultrasounds every month and all of my little girls scans have been good, but I’m still so worried. My doctors tell me not to worry and that the benefits outweigh the risks, but I can’t help it. Has anyone else been in a similar position? Please no judgement, I judge myself hard enough.

Hello.

I am diagnosed Bipolar and was previously on Lithium mood stablizer.

My psych and OB kept me on this until this week. As of week 30, I will be switching over to Seroquel XR (Quetiapine)

This is because Lithium isn't reccomended while breastfeeding and can cause high toxicity levels in baby. But apparently Seroquel is a safer option and will help with my sleep and to prevent Post Partum Psychosis.

I had a psychotic episode in my 20s so this is my number 1 concern.

Have any pregnant mamas had experience with this medication? How was your experience?