A mother who struggled with post-natal anxiety and "trance-like" states became almost unrecognisable to loved ones in the weeks before her suspected suicide.
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Post-natal care for the woman based in the Blue Mountains was explored at an inquest in Sydney on Tuesday.
The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, showed "absolutely unusual behaviour" in front of family members.
Her husband, who also cannot be named, said he would often find her in a trance-like state.
He described her as being wide-eyed and stuck in a constant loop of certain words and phrases.
She had been dealing with worsening anxiety after giving birth to their child, he told the court.
The woman would appear agitated, with hands shaking as she paced back and forth.
"It would take a long time for her to calm down," he said.
"She said that the thoughts were constant ... that (she couldn't) stop the loop."
The woman regretted certain decisions leading up to, what one doctor said, was a traumatic birth.
Frequently thinking about things that had, in her mind, gone wrong were chalked up to bad decisions regarding hospital and medical choices.
She didn't appear to be herself, the husband said, and was often unable to think logically or engage in conversations.
General practitioner Sherri Roberts said the mother's worries over her child seemed normal in the weeks post-partum, but became concerning as her anxiety grew.
"Despite knowing her baby was OK, something wasn't quite right ... it was just a feeling," she said.
Dr Roberts told Deputy State Coroner Derek Lee she noticed increasing anxiety in the mother.
"She said the baby was brilliant and that stressed her because she felt (the infant) was almost too good," she said.
The mother was taking antidepressants, among other medicines, at the time.
She was seeing several doctors, including mental health specialists, and had a health appointment scheduled on the day she died.
Dr Roberts noted the mother had been seeing a psychiatrist for her mental health, which she agreed was a necessary decision made by another GP at the time.
Her behaviour began to stem beyond anxiety and needed urgent help, she said, which was not easily met in the local area.
"For the mountains, psychiatric care is just terrible (to access)," Dr Roberts said.
"It's very hard to get onto them, and certainly very hard to see them face to face."
The inquest continues.
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Australian Associated Press
