???

[hannahwezza]

My mum has bipolar and so does most women in my family and there first breakdown is usually when there pregnant I am now 15 weeks pregnant how likely is it that it will happen to me x

[stormbear]

I have recently been  informed that genetics , 30% in my case plays apart of my mental illness . My father never diagnosed has some of my symtoms , i have not spoke to him in 10 years though, and my brother they think he has Schizo - affective disorder too like me, my mother has depression and some relatives of hers ,2 cousins and 1 uncle , 1 aunt have some form of mental illness , i'm unsure the diagnosis .
But with my father he has always been a paranoid man and had rage , alcoholism , he grew beard so people would not stare at him , and had shovels and pick near front door in case of intruders .He was not violent though unless provoked but never with family . Did not go to shops and did not speak much , I seriously think his thoughts have conversation with his mind aswell 'voices' like my brother and me .

[persephonedemeter]

Besides looking at what ILADVOCATE advise, I would like to add a few things.

It makes sense that you are concerned, considering your strong family history, but since there aren't really any genetic testing out there to trace a "bipolar gene" just yet, as far as I know, you won't really know what will happen. I've been in similar situations, not with pregnancy, and not concerning genetics. I had to face unknown outcomes to surgeries I went through, where there is a 50/50 chance that the results would end up badly, and that it would mean a total life change, and I didn't have much of a choice but either go for surgery or not go for surgery, and either way was not good at all...with not going for surgery with more of a chance where the outcome was going to very bad and extremely likely.

Since I had to go for the surgery and worrying about what may or may not happen wasn't very productive and caused me a lot of grief, I decided thst all I can do is see what happens but hope for the best. The other thing I did was to make sure I had support and things in place if things went wrong, and it was going to be the bad outcome I had to live with...which is loss of independence and loss of function in a big way.

So, I did talk to my doctors, told them what I was worried about, and what I thought I would need to help me deal with it, and so they would all know what I was facing besides the surgeon, who usually doesn't think that far. I did connect with a therapist, because as the surgery day got closer, my anxiety and worry grew. It helped me alot to make sure I had a safety net, when things are a gamble. Just like what another person did here on this forum who decided to clue everyone in on whether or not he was going to be off meds and see what happens and hope for the best. He put a lot of thought into what he was doing and he made sure he had support or as he put it a safety net, so he doesn't fall down too hard if anything bad happened. It's a pretty sensible thing to do.

Besides, preparing for the arrival of your baby, gathering all the things she needs and all the things you have to do; prepare for the welfare of your mind. If nothing happens, that is great, and you have a therapist in place to talk about it. If it doesn't, then you have an advantage most of us didn't have when the disorder developed, a prepared game plan to deal with it  and support to deal with it, besides everyone watching out for all the symptoms.

It made a difference for me when facing a hard situation, it may make a difference to you. It made me breathe a bit easier, work better, and enjoy the day, rather than fretting, dreading,  and worrying and not getting any sleep.

[ILADVOCATE]

   There are a variety of studies and the statistics vary. Google the phrase
"bipolar" and "Genetics and Risk (to your child)" and that
will call up a website that summarizes the information.
If you start to experience any concerns you can speak to a therapist.