Is excessive fear a symptom of PPD?

Megs&Nick · February 2009

This may sound really strange but DH brought it up the other day and has me curious. All in all, I feel great and do not think I'm suffering from PPD but I have a ridiculous fear of SIDS. I know it is something that all parents worry about but sometimes I feel like it consumes me.

If I'm taking a shower and Allie is sleeping, I will suddenly be overcome by the fear that she's not breathing and I need to get out of the shower NOW. Anytime I'm doing something for myself (shower, online, napping, cooking, reading, etc) I feel like she's going to quit breathing and it will be all my fault because I wasn't checking on her. I check on her every 10-15 minutes when she's napping in another room. I even checked on her once while writing this.

I type it out and know how totally irrational it is but don't really know how to stop it. Like I said, I feel great for the most part and don't feel depressed but I was wondering if these types of irrational fears could be a symptom.

Did anyone else go through this or am I the only freak out there?

AgathiP04 · February 2009

This sounds like anxiety. I had anxiety, but more that I didn't want to go anywhere, I was afraid something would happen and I wouldn't know what to do. It helped to talk to my dr. and go on anxiety meds for me. This was definitely triggered by PPD for me. Good luck!

Megs&Nick · February 2009

What strikes me as odd is that this is the only thing I fear. I don't worry about germs, illness, car wrecks, or anything else...just SIDS. Is it common to be anxious about only one thing?

I guess I need to talk to my doctor.

Jscaggs · February 2009

What about a different kind of baby monitor? We have the Angel Care Deluxe monitor with a special sensor that when she doesn't move or breath for 20 seconds it sends an alarm off that is supposed to startle the baby to make her breathe as well as notify the parents. ?We got ours at Babies R Us. ?Some people have false alarms, but we never have. ?Would this give you any assurance? ?

Megs&Nick · February 2009

That does actually sound like it might calm some of my fears. I'll have to check into that!

nire99 · February 2009

I was like this with DD and I highly recommend getting a video monitor if you have one; preferably one with infrared. We were able to see her breathing 24/7 and this really calmed my fears.

My overwhelming fear with DS was that he would get a flat head from sleeping in the car seat and swing all the time. I think it finally wore off at about three months.

I'd say that if you feel it's impacting your parenting and/or life than you should check with your Dr. and see what they recommend.

teacherjess · February 2009

Sounds like anxiety. If you find it continuing to this extent, I would see a doctor. I do have anxiety of these things but I am able to calm myself down with statistics, etc.

I think the major thing is that you might think, oh, as soon as she's older, then I won't worry about SIDS and it will be better. But I worry just as much as I did when Leah was a tiny infant, only now it's not SIDS, it's other things. So there will always be something to worry about, and if it's overtaking your life, it's worth seeing someone about.

On the happ side, Allie is beyond adorable. I can't believe how well she is up in your siggy picture!

IAM4UK · February 2009

I like you, had this only fear. I was really concerned since its more common in preemies.

We bought the Angel Care. It was my saving grace. I was able to rest in peace. We never had a false alarm and I would always test it to make sure it was working properly.

I loved it so much that I never wanted to turn it off, but we finally put it away when she was 10 months old.

Also, there is a function where you can use just the motion sensor only and I believe that the newer model has a temperature reading so you can see how warm/cold the nursery is.

jgeiman · February 2009

Anxiety was definitely a symptom for me. Along with other, completely irrational thoughts. I know I was being irrational, but it's like I couldn't stop it. I would check with you OB. It couldn't hurt.

sprads · February 2009

I had the same fear although in the beginning I used to worry that someone would accidentally step on her little hand and break it when we were playing on the floor and other people (namely a 4 & 7 year old) were in the house walking around. I would worry about germs of people that i wasn't close to, namely DH's family that came back into our lives when DD was about 2 months old. I did notice that I didn't necessarily make my family wash their hands before they held her although a lot of my family just did it without me asking.

Although, for naps, I put her in the swing in the same room as me so I could watch her breathe. I never realized it until you said it that it might not be normal. I am a perfectionist though, so I didn't even think twice about it.

Megs&Nick · February 2009

Thanks ladies. I'm going to talk to the doctor at Allie's next appointment (we all go to the same doc) and see what he thinks. I'm also going to look into that Angel Care monitor once we are able to get her to sleep somewhere other than her chair.

You guys are the best!

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