Although it was financially challenging Hope extended her maternity leave because she felt she missed out on the first three months with her child.

Written testimony

It was really hard for me to disconnect from work, even in my postpartum period I would think about work, which is, I think, maladaptive really, you know, to be like thinking about work; like you just had a baby. So, in my career, no I’m just, it’s I’m still involved in, I’m still in, you know, I haven’t given everything up, but I’ve given myself a little bit more space and I’ve extended my maternity leave, because I really felt that I lost the first three months with a lot of distress, so I extended my maternity leave. I’m, you know, ‘able to do that’, I mean, not really, but we’ll probably draw a line of credit and stuff lots of times, I have zero income right now. But we’ll just cut back the spending and I know that in the course of my life, however many thousands of dollars I lose over the course of these three months or so, I mean it’s nothing. And I’m even tempted to extend it the whole, for another six months, you know, but we have to do the roof. And I am, and I do like my job and I, yeah so.

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More content

• Seeking Help and Getting Diagnosis – Hope
  The intrusive thoughts made Hope scared to ask for help as she feared her baby might be taken away.
• Work, Finances and Mental Health – Hope
  Although it was financially challenging Hope extended her maternity leave because she felt she missed out on the first three months with her child.
• Relationships – Hope
  When Hope shared her worries with her husband that he might hurt the children, he accompanied her to find help.
• Support from Family and Friends – Hope
  Hope is thankful for having a supportive husband.
• Bonding – Hope
  Sometimes, the bond needed a little encouragement, and Hope believes that cuddling and skin-to-skin contact can strengthen that connection with the baby.
• Bonding – Hope
  With her second baby, Hope didn't feel an immediate explosion of joy after birth, and a few hours later, she experienced her first intrusive thought.
• Coping with Feeding – Hope
  Continuing breastfeeding, despite the challenges, helped Hope move past the postpartum period.
• Symptoms – Hope
  It was a huge relief for Hope when her doctor reassured her that intrusive thoughts can be normal and are treatable.
• Birth Experience and Mental Health – Hope
  After a good birth experience, Hope didn't feel the explosion of phenomenal joy she had expected.
• Before and During Pregnancy – Hope
  The first fear Hope experienced when she heard she was pregnant was that she then had to get off her medications.