{"id":29696,"date":"2025-05-25T23:31:14","date_gmt":"2025-05-25T23:31:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/i-want-a-child-but-im-scared-to-come-off-the-pill\/"},"modified":"2025-05-25T23:31:14","modified_gmt":"2025-05-25T23:31:14","slug":"i-want-a-child-but-im-scared-to-come-off-the-pill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/i-want-a-child-but-im-scared-to-come-off-the-pill\/","title":{"rendered":"‘I want a child but I’m scared to come off the pill’"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Elin Alexander<\/span><\/p>\n

BBC Wales News<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\"BBCBBC<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Marianne Barry, 29, believes there is a lack of understanding about PMDD<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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If 29-year-old Marianne Barry doesn’t take the contraceptive pill each day, she could have symptoms of severe anxiety or even suicidal thoughts.<\/p>\n

Marianne has pre-menstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), a condition which affects as many as 8% of women and causes intense emotional and physical symptoms in the days leading up to menstruation – with an average wait time for a diagnosis of around 12 years.<\/p>\n

Contraceptive medication remains the primary course of treatment for women living with PMDD, but for women who wish to become pregnant this poses a dilemma.<\/p>\n

“I want to have a child, but I also want to be sane,” said Marianne.<\/p>\n

The Welsh government said it was “determined to improve the diagnosis, treatment and awareness of conditions affecting women”, including PMDD.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Marianne, a teaching assistant from Cardiff, spent eight years going back and forth to her GP before seeking a private diagnosis two years ago, when her symptoms became overwhelming.<\/p>\n

“I would wake up in the morning and I could feel this thing bubbling up inside of me,” she said.<\/p>\n

“It was like my brain was almost hot with feelings of anger, being upset, anxiety \u2013 the anxiety was just insane.”<\/p>\n

She began to realise that her symptoms coincided with her menstrual cycle, and started to make a record of them.<\/p>\n

“I could feel it and I’d go ‘OK, well I know my period’s coming.'”<\/p>\n

Before she was prescribed the contraceptive pill, Marianne’s symptoms would re-appear each month, which she said left her in a constant cycle of anxiety.<\/p>\n

“You almost feel like you’ve made it up because you have this really bad low and then everything seems to start getting better again as you’re coming towards that ovulation period.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

“I want to have a child, but I also want to be sane.”<\/figcaption><\/p>\n

What is PMDD?<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
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According to the NHS<\/a>, symptoms of PMDD are “similar to PMS, but are much more intense and can have a much greater negative impact on your everyday life”.<\/p>\n

Symptoms can include:<\/p>\n