THE DIRECTOR of Nursing and Midwifery at Bath's Royal United Hospital has apologised to a first-time Corsham mother after it took them nine days to diagnose her with severe post-partum psychosis which left her feeling suicidal.

Personal trainer Holly York, 30, is now considering legal action for the delayed diagnosis as the mania caused sleep deprivation, paranoia and vivid hallucinations, all while looking after her newborn baby Leo with her 31-year-old husband Adam.

"It was a whirlwind. We were living a nightmare," she said. "I kept referring to myself in the third person. There were two of me in the house - a good one and a bad one. On day nine the bad one made the good one slit her throat and I was dead on the kitchen floor.

"I had to step over my dead body - I still get flashbacks. It was a nightmare. It was horrific but I couldn't tell anyone. On the day before I was diagnosed I got Adam to hide everything sharp, like knives and utensils."

She was eventually diagnosed and sectioned under the Mental Health Act, and then spent 13 days in Southmead Hospital's mother and baby unit.

Mrs York, who had her son Leo using a meditative birth technique, called a hypnobirth, on September 6, said she believed her illness was triggered after a midwife, who was showing visitors around the birthing centre in Chippenham, walked in on her in the bathroom.

The couple left the following day after staff suggested they would be sleeping in the same room as another family. When they got home, she began displaying all the signs of the condition, which affects 1 in 1000 new mothers.

Despite pleading with the birthing centre, paramedics and police on the night before she was sectioned, Mrs York had to wait another 16-and-a-half hours before a psychiatrist visited and sent her for treatment at Southmead Hospital's mother and baby unit.

"I don't know how they didn't pick it up sooner - there were clearly identifiable signs," Mr York said. "We had never heard of it before. We were lucky that Holly was aware - she knew she needed help and wanted help."

The new mother, who lost two-and-a-half stone in a week from the condition, hopes her story will encourage others to speak out.

Helen Blanchard, director of Nursing and Midwifery at Bath's Royal United Hospital, who runs the Chippenham centre, said: "We're very sorry that Holly feels let down by our service at the Chippenham Birthing Centre. Our priority is always to give the best possible care to mother and baby. We are in contact with Holly to understand and learn from her experiences."

Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership Trust refused to comment specifically on Mrs York's case but said they would welcome the opportunity to raise the profile and awareness of postpartum psychosis.