Mum developed Parkinson’s during pregnancy

A mother has described the life-changing moment she discovered she had Parkinson’s disease, shortly after giving birth to her first child.

Hayley Huxley, from Wales, believes she developed the condition during pregnancy. Doctors diagnosed Parkinson’s when she experienced problems using her hand, two months after the birth. The 30-year-old believes the disease was brought out of its ‘dormant’ stage by the stress of having her first daughter Poppy. Hayley was 25 at the time.

“Within months of having my second child my leg became stiff and painful for the first time and I knew that the births had to be linked to my condition,” she told a UK newspaper.

The Parkinson’s Disease Society says hormonal changes and the physical stress of pregnancy can worsen the symptoms. In a similar case, Parkinson’s Life blogger Sharon Krischer told how trauma during childbirth may have set off her friend’s young-onset Parkinson’s.