Alexandra was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder after suffering a medical trauma and almost lost her life. She subsequently developed a fear of hospitals.
Alexandra underwent therapy, eventually recovered and was living a very happy life. However, when she fell pregnant, many memories and fears slowly resurfaced.
Since her trauma, Alexandra found planned hospital visits difficult, so she started to become anxious around giving birth and the thought of returning to a hospital environment. Her anxiety slowly built up and Alexandra became concerned about postnatal depression and the affects her anxiety would have after her baby was born.
Neither Alexandra or her husband had family in the UK so feeling anxious and isolated, she eventually turned to her midwife for help. She was subsequently placed under her local hospital’s perinatal mental health team and from there was referred for both peer support and more therapy.
It was so amazing to have that person of contact, to be able to ask any question and to have somebody to be able to talk with... It felt like she was my mum at some points, that’s how close we got just by talking on the phone.