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Community voices: Emma's story

Emma had experienced depression in the past as well as postnatal depression following the birth of her first baby. Emma was referred for peer support by her Community Midwife when she was 4 months pregnant.

She had experienced depression in the past and was starting to feel low again during the pregnancy however she did not want to take medication.

pregnant woman

Emma felt having someone to talk to might help. However, as is sometimes the case, Emma did not click with the first volunteer she was matched with. A second volunteer was found - Hannah, they got on straight away, and their relationship flourished.

At points, Emma was very low and tearful. But, being able to share her feelings, worries and anxieties with Hannah helped.

Thanks to Hannah’s encouragement, Emma decided to reach out online to other mums who wanted to meet up and make friends. She found a group of mums who met every few weeks and kept in touch via social media. She also worked on improving her relationship with her close family members, so they were able to support her more effectively.

In the last visit before the birth Emma was feeling very low and became tearful - “I’m going to my dark place again” she told Hannah. Emma was having sleepless nights due to worry and anxiety about the baby being still born.

Emma, with Hannah’s help re-capped the techniques for managing negative thoughts that her counsellor had given her when she had therapy in the past. Together they set small and achievable goals for the last few weeks of the pregnancy while waiting for baby to arrive. By the end of the visit she started to feel much calmer. 

“Hannah is lovely, really friendly, and helped with putting my mind at rest as I have struggled a bit with antenatal depression. I should have asked for help earlier.”

Emma stayed in phone contact with Hannah during labour and in the first few hours/days following the birth and Hannah visited once they’d returned home.

Emma had tried to breastfeed her first baby but had found it painful and difficult. She felt pressured to breastfeed and found talking to professionals about breastfeeding difficult. After chatting with Hannah about this through her pregnancy, Emma started to feel more confident and gave it a go once her baby was born.

Hannah continued to visit, and Emma opened up about her tiredness and managing life with the new baby and the toddler. “It’s nice to have someone to talk to about my worries and emotions.”

Emma was also experiencing difficulties in the relationship with her partner at this time. They were arguing a lot. Hannah listened and shared a few useful tools to help Emma build on the positives in their relationship. She also encouraged Emma to be aware of signs that could indicate that she was feeling low and the steps she could take to stop things escalating. “Hannah never judged me and understood how I was feeling.”

Towards the end of the support Emma told Hannah that she was feeling really pleased with how well she was doing “it is not as hard as I thought it would be, I’m really enjoying being a mum to my two boys.”

(Please note: names have been changed to protect identities)

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