Planning a pregnancy when you have a severe mental health illness

Having a baby is a huge and exciting step in life. You may be planning your first pregnancy or you may already have children. Either way, you have the right to choose when to try for a baby and how many children you would like to have.

A severe mental illness is one that can affect your ability to take part in your usual daily activities. Examples include bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, severe depression and psychosis. 

You may also find the information in this section helpful if you are already pregnant.

If you don’t have a diagnosed mental illness, you can read about looking after your mental wellbeing when you’re planning a pregnancy.

If you are on medication but your mental illness is not as severe as described above, there is information for you here.