Planning a pregnancy | Right Decisions

Who can I talk to for advice when I am planning a pregnancy?

Your GP is a good person to talk to if you are planning a pregnancy. If you are under the care of a mental health service, you should also talk to your psychiatrist.

In some areas your GP may refer you to perinatal mental health services .

These are specialist services for women and birthing parents during pregnancy and for up to a year after your baby is born. Ask your GP or psychiatrist if they can refer you to a perinatal mental health service so you can see a perinatal psychiatrist for advice when you are planning a pregnancy. This is particularly important if you have had bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, postpartum psychosis, or birth trauma. It may also be helpful if you have had other mental health conditions (eg depression or anxiety).

You may also find it helpful to talk to other women or birthing parents who have had mental health conditions and who now have children. The organisations listed in the support directory within this app can be a good starting point.

Planning a pregnancy while on medication for depression

If you have depression or have had it in the past and you’re planning to have a baby, you should talk to your doctor before you become pregnant. With the right treatment and care, most women and birthing parents with depression have healthy babies. It is important to talk to your doctor or specialist early.

The resource hub from Tommy's covers a range of important issues including:

not stopping medication until you have discussed it with a healthcare professional
medicines and conceiving
support and treatment options to consider
looking after yourself.

The Royal College of Psychiatrists also offers useful advice on planning pregnancy if you have a mental health condition.

Questions you might want to ask your healthcare professional

Tommy's suggests you might want to discuss the following questions with your healthcare professional:

How might pregnancy and childbirth affect me?
What is the risk of a previous mental health condition coming back or getting worse?
How might my condition and its treatment affect me and my pregnancy and afterwards?
How might my condition and its treatment affect parenting?
Are there any risks of not treating my condition?
If my condition isn’t treated with medication, how will my symptoms be controlled?
What mental health services are available for me in my area when I am pregnant?
What kind of support is available after my baby is born?

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.