Gemma
The storm we experienced did not define us as parents. Instead, it became one chapter in a much longer journey.
Anxiety isn't new to me, but nothing prepared me for what followed my son’s birth. My first pregnancy began at the height of COVID, with my husband working day and night on the public health response. A flare of my ulcerative colitis and mounting fear about childbirth left me a shell of a human by the final weeks.
Our son arrived healthy and delightful but ten days later, everything changed. Breastfeeding became agonising, insomnia took hold, and I became convinced I would never cope as a mother.
My Gidget Clinician and a social worker helped guide me out of the depths of despair. I don't like to think about how much worse things could have been without that support.
When our second child was born, there was no fear only excitement, just as I had hoped. Our daughter’s birth was healing.
The storm we experienced after son’s birth did not define us as parents and I am deeply grateful for the support that helped guide us through those darkest months.