Sharing our stories

I remember myself always trying to maintain an active and healthy lifestyle. A couple of years ago though, due to my father’s death, I developed symptoms of depression and I started going to therapy. During my pregnancy, I was mostly active and cheerful, however, after my baby’s delivery, I started feeling intensively sad, overwhelmed and tearful and I often isolated myself. When my baby was crying incessantly, I felt utterly incapable of soothing my baby. I was sleeping a lot of hours during the day and I had no willingness to spend time with my baby. I didn’t even want to take care of my personal hygiene; taking a shower or changing my clothes seemed to be an extreme burden for me. My husband and I strongly support each other. He understood the urgency of the situation and suggested me to visit my therapist for guidance. In the beginning, I was hesitant about it; however, later on I decided to book an appointment. Over the next few weeks of therapy, I observed significant improvements in my mood and energy levels.

I am generally quite a happy and positive person and I am trying to always cope with adversities. My husband and I have been trying for a long time to have a child. After a number of efforts, we eventually got pregnant. We were both completely shocked and happy about it. A couple of weeks later, I noticed that the pressure piled on and I started getting highly stressed about everything.

My concerns mainly focus on baby loss or potential birth complications. It has been a journey for me and I do not want anything to go wrong. I also noticed that I experienced a lot of changes in my weight and I had no appetite for more than two weeks. My husband was trying to understand and help me as much as he could. I talked about my feelings and experiences with my closest friend, who really supported me and suggested to refer to my doctor. I am planning to arrange an appointment as soon as possible.

I am generally quite a happy and positive person and I am trying to always cope with adversities. My husband and I have been trying for a long time to have a child. After a number of efforts, we eventually got pregnant. We were both completely shocked and happy about it. A couple of weeks later, I noticed that the pressure piled on and I started getting highly stressed about everything. My concerns mainly focus on baby loss or potential birth complications. It has been a journey for me and I do not want anything to go wrong. I also noticed that I experienced a lot of changes in my weight and I had no appetite for more than two weeks. My husband was trying to understand and help me as much as he could. I talked about my feelings and experiences with my closest friend, who really supported me and suggested to refer to my doctor. I am planning to arrange an appointment as soon as possible.

It has not been long since I became a father. I was really happy about our family and so was Gudrun. I am aware that she has gone through a lot of changes in her daily life, especially during the first month of our baby’s delivery. I understand that she needs time to cope with all these challenges and I am willing to help her as much as I can. I have asked for some time off of my work, in order to support and help Gudrun. I am sure she is already feeling better and she is enjoying being a new mother.

Christina and I have been trying for years to have a baby. Initially, we were both very excited and could not wait for our baby’s delivery. The last couple of weeks, I have noticed that she has been quite anxious and afraid of several situations, even though I am trying to comfort her as much as I can. I am also feeling a little bit lost and sad about the situation. Christina told me she is planning to book an appointment with her doctor. I am not sure what my behavior should be; I do not want to interfere a lot, so that she does not feel even more anxious.

We are very happy about being parents and we want to eventually end up having a big family. However, transitioning to a different country and being forced to leave our home was a very difficult period for us and still is. I understand Layla’s tiredness and sadness because we were expecting to create our family in different conditions. The truth is that sometimes I catch myself feeling more anxious than I used to be before the baby’s delivery because I am worried about our living conditions and future. Family is really important, and no matter what, I will try my best to understand and support Layla.