![Pinterest](https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://uknews.evprotec.com/new-mums-rushed-to-mental-health-wards-for-little-known-condition-affecting-thousands/&media=https://uknews.evprotec.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/0_Action-on-Postpartum-Psychosis.jpg&description=Karen Savage and Hannah Bissett have recalled their ordeals with postpartum psychosis - which is a mental illness that can cause confusion, paranoia and delusions in new mums Two mothers have bravely shared their experiences of postpartum psychosis which led to hallucinations, nervous breakdowns and depression after the births of their children. Karen Savage, 63, from Manchester, experienced postpartum psychosis 37 years ago and endured electroshock therapy as her treatment to the "taboo" diagnosis in the late 1980s. While Hannah Bissett, who is also from Manchester, was diagnosed in 2009 but despite the decades between their experiences, they both hadn't heard of the condition. Although terms such as the 'baby blues' are 'considered normal' and well known, postpartum psychosis still remains less familiar to new mums. Hannah, who is now a national coordinator for the Action on Postpartum Psychosis ( APP) charity, explained: 'It's rare, but it's not that rare - it's one in 500 births, that's about 1,400 women-a-year. Karen said: "I went into hospital 10 days overdue. I think I started to show signs as soon as I gave birth. In those days you'd stay in hospital for a week after giving birth. By the end of that week, I was definitely showing signs." She also experienced a string of frightening symptoms which left her family worried, reports Manchester Evening News. 'I was showing signs of euphoria, which can be normal when you're breastfeeding but I was too euphoric. I wasn't sleeping,' she continued. 'By Sunday or Monday, I was having a nervous breakdown. I knew I was poorly." Both women were back in hospital just days after giving birth. Hannah recalls the confusion of being in the midst of psychosis: 'I was unable to sleep, overwhelmed, scared. I would see flashes out of the corner of my eye, hearing whispers, hallucinating. 'I had this fear that something terrible had happened or was about to happen to my baby. I never wanted to hurt my baby, I was very protective -){kind=link}
Karen Savage and Hannah Bissett have recalled their ordeals with postpartum psychosis – which is a mental illness that can cause confusion, paranoia and delusions in new mums
Two mothers have bravely shared their experiences of postpartum psychosis which led to hallucinations, nervous breakdowns and depression after the births of their children.
Karen Savage, 63, from Manchester, experienced postpartum psychosis 37 years ago and endured electroshock therapy as her treatment to the “taboo” diagnosis in the late 1980s. While Hannah Bissett, who is also from Manchester, was diagnosed in 2009 but despite the decades between their experiences, they both hadn’t heard of the condition.
Although terms such as the ‘baby blues’ are ‘considered normal’ and well known, postpartum psychosis still remains less familiar to new mums. Hannah, who is now a national coordinator for the Action on Postpartum Psychosis ( APP) charity, explained: “It’s rare, but it’s not that rare – it’s one in 500 births, that’s about 1,400 women-a-year.
Karen said: “I went into hospital 10 days overdue. I think I started to show signs as soon as I gave birth. In those days you’d stay in hospital for a week after giving birth. By the end of that week, I was definitely showing signs.”