Most parents expect a healthy, full-term baby. When a baby arrives early or faces medical complications, it can bring grief and trauma. Many mothers blame themselves — but it is not your fault.
When your baby is in the NICU, you may feel like you are in a state of crisis, as if you're living a bad dream that keeps repeating. Your mind races with fears and questions while you focus on your baby's progress.
During a NICU stay, parents may experience depression, anxiety, insomnia, numbness, and anger — and these feelings can persist after discharge. You may become hypervigilant, have obsessive thoughts or excessive worries, and feel heightened anxiety, which can be signs of Postpartum Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Bringing home a pre-term or medically fragile baby can feel daunting, and it's common to feel isolated after leaving the hospital.
Research has shown that up to 70% of NICU mothers experience postpartum depression, and about 40% of NICU parents may develop PTSD.
Please reach out if you are a parent of a NICU baby or have a medically fragile baby.
Please reach out — you do not have to carry this alone.
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