Sydney Mother’s Urgent Plea Following Postpartum Psychosis Battle
A young Sydney mother is sharing her harrowing experience with postpartum psychosis following the premature birth of her twin boys, urging families to recognize the early signs of mental health issues related to childbirth and advocating for increased awareness and support for new mothers. Katrina Weynberg, now 30, and her husband Donald, 32, faced a terrifying ordeal in 2021 that underscores the critical need for improved perinatal mental healthcare.
The pregnancy began with a shock. During an ultrasound early in 2021,and at the height of COVID-19 restrictions that prevented her husband from attending,Katrina learned she was expecting twins. “She said, ‘There’s two heartbeats,’ and I thought she meant she’d found mine,” Katrina recalled to 7NEWS.com.au. “I’d never had an ultrasound before. When she said, ‘You’ve got two babies,’ I was shocked.”
The pregnancy progressed smoothly until 33 weeks, when one of the boys, Mumford, stopped growing. A subsequent scan revealed a dire situation: blood was only reaching his head and heart. Doctors acted swiftly, performing an emergency caesarean section at Westmead Hospital in Sydney on December 17, 2021. “Birthing premature babies is not represented enough in mainstream media. I was hoping to have them on my chest but that was not the case,” she said, highlighting the often-unseen realities of premature birth.
The boys were immediately transferred to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Katrina remembers only briefly holding their tiny fingers before they were taken away, enduring an agonizing eight-hour wait before she could hold either of them. “That was the beginning of the trauma,” she said. “I thought they’d be put on my chest. Instead I saw one of them wrapped in plastic. No one told me why. It was terrifying.”
Following surgery, Katrina was left alone in the maternity ward, a silence amplifying the emptiness she felt. “I have no concept of time, only that I’ve given birth for the first time in my life,” she wrote, capturing the disorientation of the moment. “After recovery I was whisked away to the maternity ward. There I lay,in a silent room,with the loudness of my heart,spoke through the walls. I could hear babies crying, yet, none of mine were in the room.”
Over the next 12 days, Katrina’s condition rapidly deteriorated. She experienced insomnia, rapid speech, and increasing confusion, becoming convinced the radio was sending her secret messages. “I was having delusions,” she realized in retrospect.”My thoughts and perceptions changed, my mind played tricks on me.” Those around her initially attributed her behavior to the expected overwhelm, sleep deprivation, and anxiety common among new parents, particularly those with premature twins.
However, her husband, Donald, recognized the severity of the situation. “He called the nurse unit manager and said, ‘I’m really concerned about my partner’,” Katrina said.”That call saved my life.” Hospital staff escorted her to the emergency department, where she expected a much-needed nap and a return to the NICU. Instead, she was admitted to the psychiatric unit, facing an uncertain separation from her newborns. “The room was sterile and bright. A nurse had to sit with me one-to-one.That’s when I realized something was seriously wrong,” she said.
Katrina was diagnosed with postpartum psychosis,a rare but severe mental health emergency affecting approximately 1 to 2 in every 1,000 women shortly after childbirth.She was separated from Mumford and Murphy while doctors stabilized her with medication safe for breastfeeding, though she was largely limited to expressing milk with minimal contact with her sons. “My husband would see me through the glass doors and collect my expressed breastmilk for our ch
Australian parents are urged to watch for early signs and seek support.
If you or someone you know needs support: [Link to support resources would be inserted hear].
