Planning a pregnancy
Mental health in pregnancy and after birth (SIGN)
If you have borderline personality disorder (BPD), you should talk to a healthcare professional about planning your pregnancy. They can help you manage any changes to your medication that may be needed and get any extra support you may need during pregnancy, as well as helping you bond with your baby.
If you have BPD, your health professional will work with the different professionals involved in your care to develop a care plan. You can be referred for specialist mental health support, which will give advice and information during pregnancy or after you give birth. The team can create a care plan for monitoring your mental health to make sure you have the right support for your mental health and your relationship with your baby.
A care plan might include:
- a summary of your mental and physical health needs
- what to look out for in case your condition gets worse
- what helps you stay well
- what medication you are taking and any planned changes
- your plans for childbirth
- how you are hoping to feed your baby
- support for your relationship with your baby
- sources of support in your life
- where to get help if you mental health condition gets worse or you are in crisis
- other sources of support in the community that you might find helpful such as mother and baby classes
- future family planning
- details of future appointments and which professionals are involved in supporting you.
What help is available to support me and my baby?
Services are available to support you and your baby so that you can be the parent you want to be. These include:
- your health visitor
- community organisations like home start
- specialist services, such as perinatal mental health services, the infant mental health care team or children’s early intervention services.
This video from the Perinatal Mental Mental Health Network Scotland outlines the specialist support available to help you to keep well while you are preparing for pregnancy if you have a mental health condition or have had mental health issues in the past.
Record your feelings and questions
You can use this online form to record issues and questions you want to discuss with your midwife, health visitor, family nurse or other healthcare professional. Once completed, you can save it or print it out. Click on the icon below to access the form.
