Despite her expertise as a midwife and academic, Helen describes her perinatal mental health experience with one word: ‘blindsided’. She developed post-traumatic stress disorder following a traumatic pregnancy marked by pre-eclampsia, IUGR, and a NICU admission, compounded by baby loss and ongoing IVF uncertainty. She reflects on the profound impact of psychological trauma in the perinatal period, both personally and professionally.

After a joyful first postpartum experience, Tegan was unprepared for how quickly her mental health unravelled the second time. As her OCD intensified and her symptoms were repeatedly dismissed, she struggled to access the care she needed, until finally she was admitted to a mother-and-baby unit — all thanks to the help of an unlikely stranger.

Rebecca had spent most of her life imagining motherhood — but not the mental breakdown that led to a psychiatric admission just days after her son’s birth. In part two, she reflects on a postpartum experience, shaped by OCD and PTSD, that unfolded in ways she never could have imagined.