Mother Holly York appeared on This Morning to discuss her postpartum psychosis

November 23, 2016

Holly York suffered from extreme postpartum psychosis after giving birth
She was sectioned for 13 days before deemed well enough to return home
Appeared on This Morning to discuss the condition with Dr Zoe Williams
The doctor explained how Holly had a ‘complete psychiatric emergency’

Natalie Corner For Mailonline

Published:
09:34 EST, 23 November 2016

|
Updated:
11:14 EST, 23 November 2016

e-mail

View
comments

A mother was sectioned after suffering a ‘complete psychiatric emergency’ when her postpartum psychosis symptoms went undiagnosed.

New mum Holly York, 30, of Corsham, Wiltshire barely slept and started having vivid hallucinations a week after giving birth to her son Leo.

She opened up about her experience on This Morning alongside Dr Zoe Williams who explained that her condition went untreated due to ‘complete lack of awareness’.

Holly York, 30, gave birth to her son Leo in September but days after giving birth she began suffering symptoms of postpartum psychosis

Appearing on This Morning the new mum was joined by Doctor Zoe Williams who said that the mental health conditions needs to be better understood

Dr Zoe Williams, GP, said: ‘This condition is a complete psychiatric emergency. The main problem is the lack of awareness of picking this up.

‘I think people know about baby blues. Most women will have baby blues. This condition affects one in a thousand.’

She described the ways in which people can spot the symptoms of the ‘extremely rare’ condition which only affects one in 1,000 women.

‘I asked my husband to hide anything sharp’: Mother reveals…

‘You just train like an absolute psycho for 20 minutes’:…

‘All I want is to be adored’: Mother with almost SIX…

Actress and socialite Davinia Taylor auctions contents of…

‘The early signs can be low mood or high mood. They can also be lack of sleep. If a woman doesn’t want to sleep or is unable to do normal daily tasks, or has unusual thoughts or unusual ideas it is a good idea to seek help.’

When Holly returned home after having her son on September 6 via hypnobirth – breathing the baby out instead of pushing – she was constantly on the move cleaning, changing nappies barely managing to get any sleep.

Holly was sectioned under the Mental Health Act for 13 days after she was diagnosed and has opened up about the symptoms she suffered

The first-time mum explained to Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield how she began hallucinating: ‘I had an hour and a half average of sleep a night. I had racing thoughts. I was talking at 100 miles an hour.

‘By day seven or day eight I began to see my mum who passed away. I also thought there was a man in the house who was coming to kill me.

‘I was very aware of what was going on. A lot of women don’t know what is happening. I reached breaking point because no one was willing to help me. I was trying to get the thoughts out, I was hallucinating.

‘My husband and I did NCT [National Childbirth Trust parenting classes] locally. It touched on post natal depression but otherwise there is little information.

‘My manic episodes happened over night.’

Explaining that when she and her husband Adam, 31, called for help there was a lack of urgency despite Holly feeling at the end of her tether.

‘We called the midwives on the night of day eight. The following morning they asked for a GP to come and see me. The GP said I would be okay and didn’t need help. A psychiatrist said I did but I didn’t believe her, because of the state I was in.

‘No one would take responsibility for us. We cried for help. We spoke to so many medical professionals.’

She was eventually diagnosed after nine days and sectioned under the Mental Health Act after feeling she wanted to slit her own throat, staying at the Southmead Hospital’s mother and baby unit where she was given anti-psychotic drugs.

Postpartum psychosis is a severe mental illness that can affect a woman after having a baby and can trigger hallucinations and delusional thinking.
e-mail