Depression during and after pregnancy

You may feel a mixture of emotions during your pregnancy and after they have given birth, this is normal.

Sometimes the emotional changes can lead to depression and anxiety and additional support is needed.   If you feel you that you need that extra support, contact your GP, midwife or health visitor and they will help you find the right support.

The following services also offer advice and tips on coping with mental health during and after pregnancy:

• NHS - Depression during pregnancy (antenatal depression)
• NHS - depression after giving birth (postnatal depression)
• Public Health Leicester
• Tommy's Pregnancy Hub - Mental health before, during and after pregnancy
• Pandas - information and support for parents affected by perinatal mental illness

Contact your GP if you, or a friend or relative who is pregnant:

• starts hearing or seeing things that are not real (hallucinations)
• develop strong beliefs not shared by others (delusions)

If it is not possible to contact a GP, call NHS 111 or your local out-of-hours service.

Call 999 if:

• you think there is a danger that you might harm yourself or others
• you are worried that someone else might harm themselves or others