Megan, a mom of two from northeast England, experienced postpartum psychosis after the birth of her first baby. She navigated pregnancy during the pandemic, had a long labor followed by an emergency procedure, and experienced a gradual curve of psychosis over eight weeks. Despite raising concerns with her care team, her symptoms weren’t treated properly until she was quite unwell.

Megan describes her experience in a mother-baby unit and a general psychiatric ward, and how those different environments shaped her recovery. We reflect on how COVID may have influenced her journey, why religion surfaced in her delusions, and what it was like to approach pregnancy again after psychosis.

Trigger warning: This episode includes discussion of suicide, delusional experiences involving death, and mentions of self-harm in a psychiatric setting.

Resources:

• Kelly Rickard’s Free as a Bird Bit

Citations:

• Burtle, A., & Bezruchka, S. (2016, June 1). Population Health and Paid Parental Leave: What the United States can learn from two decades of research. MDPI.
• Gilden , J. (2020, March 10). Long-term outcomes of postpartum psychosis: A systematic review and meta-analysis. The Journal of clinical psychiatry.
• Heshmati, A., & Honkaniemi, H. (2023, January). The effect of parental leave on parents’ mental health: A systematic review. The Lancet. Public health.
• Kovess-Masfety V et al (2018, February 16). Psychotic experiences and religiosity: Data from the WHO World Mental Health Surveys. Acta psychiatrica Scandinavica.
• Liu, J., & Lai, H. (2025, October 9). Association between COVID-19 infection and risk of mental disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis. ScienceDirect.
• Savić, A. et al. (2022, November). Changes in psychiatric services dynamics during the COVID-19 pandemic: Recognizing the need for resources shift. Elsevier.
• Severance, E. G. et al (2009, June 2). Coronavirus immunoreactivity in individuals with a recent onset of psychotic symptoms. Schizophrenia bulletin.
• Wesseloo, R. et al. (2015, October 30). Risk of postpartum relapse in bipolar disorder and postpartum psychosis: A systematic review and meta-analysis. The American journal of psychiatry.
• Westhead, M., & Georgiades, A. (2025, July 3). The role of spirituality and religiosity in the maintenance and recovery of psychosis: A systematic review. Early intervention in psychiatry.