Post by Kia on Oct 12, 2013 16:28:30 GMT 12
It took me a LONG time to work out I had PNI. Roughly 18months in fact. I can testify to the fact it's no fun... And it most certainly is not normal to feel that way for that long. Why? I guess like many of us I am one of those 'just soldier on' folks... You know, put on the brave face and get on with it. And I told myself, well it's just new mum feelings isn't it? This is it, so I will just have to cope. Wrong. You do not just have to cope... And the sooner you seek help and support, the quicker you will feel better.
Having said all that, there's no doubt that in the first few days/weeks/months post birth the edges are fairly blurred between the feelings/thoughts and even bodily sensations of new mums and those suffering post natal illness. So just how do we define it? I wish the answer was simple. But like so much where PNI is concerned you just can not package it up and tie it with a nice neat bow. We all suffer with it slightly differently. I think for me, the difference between 'normal' and PNI comes down to two main factors... severity and persistence of symptoms. And at this point I hand over to an article on post partum progress which outlines that so much better than I can. I hope it helps to clarify for you, in the way it helped me too.
www.postpartumprogress.com/the-difference-between-postpartum-depression-normal-new-mom-stress
Kia x
Having said all that, there's no doubt that in the first few days/weeks/months post birth the edges are fairly blurred between the feelings/thoughts and even bodily sensations of new mums and those suffering post natal illness. So just how do we define it? I wish the answer was simple. But like so much where PNI is concerned you just can not package it up and tie it with a nice neat bow. We all suffer with it slightly differently. I think for me, the difference between 'normal' and PNI comes down to two main factors... severity and persistence of symptoms. And at this point I hand over to an article on post partum progress which outlines that so much better than I can. I hope it helps to clarify for you, in the way it helped me too.
www.postpartumprogress.com/the-difference-between-postpartum-depression-normal-new-mom-stress
Kia x