Will postnatal depression prevent me becoming a childminder?

reheat

I don't know for sure but I would think that if you are still being treated for PND and/or have not been clear of it for a reasonable time, you probably would not be accepted at this time. In your situation it must be very hard to see the other side of the coin, but I feel in truth it is not fair on you, other children or their parents to try and child mind till you are clear of your PND. Many women suffer from it and most get through it ~ the child minding is a good goal to aim for. But give yourself a bit of time to recover.

And whatever you do (just in case you may be tempted) do not put misleading informatioin on the form. Aside from being immoral it could drop you into some terrible trouble later on ~ these days the authorities are sure to check out your medical history anyway.

Good luck for the future.

Mortgagefreeforme

I had PND with my first child and from my experience I would never leave my kids with a childminder who was still being treated for it.
Admittedley I had it quite severe, I was suicidal by the time I got treatment, but the scary thing is that once the meds kicked in I falsley felt "cured". Looking back on it now it took me over two years to totally recover, but now I realise just what a tough time I had. The meds can give you a false feeling of everything being okay, which fair enough that is the purpose of them, but you need to give yourself time to recover properley.
I wish you the best of luck in your recovery, and I am sure you will make a good chilminder at some point just not right now. Take time to get well again.

newcook

If I were you I would pop over to Mumsnet.com and have a look in the childminding section - you will be suprised at the amount of people who have had PND but are childminders. so long as your meds are good, you feel stable and you feel you are getting better and you doctor is happy with your progress it should be ok.

immoral_angeluk

Thanks for all the advice. I saw my doctor this morning and gave him my health declaration to fill in for ofsted and sent off my ofsted forms so it's in my dr and ofsted's hands now.

izoomzoom

I have never had PND (that I know of) but could never look after children. It is bad enough looking after my own children sometimes.

Have to say, our CM is wonderful, and our children absolutely adore her. If you are good with children, go for it.

victoriaplum1

I have had PND and I was going through the assessment to become a foster carer at the time...I am now a registered foster carer so no it didnt prevent me and it doesnt affect my ability to look after my son or my foster son. Maybe my PND wasnt as severe as some have had though? They do put it on your forms etc and question you about it etc (and rightly so) but it doesnt necessarily bar you, think it depends how long you have had it whether you are prone to depression in general etc