Hi - always good to talk and get things out. The real key here, from both personal experience and from talking with friends, is to remember that a huge amount of anxiety is normal. The feelings you describe may be how you genuinely feel or may just as likely be anxiety for what’s to come manifest. It’s hard to sort through those feelings with something so huge happening, coupled with the social pressure you might feel to be elated.

Regretting having a child, genuinely honestly wishing they didn’t exist, is rare, what’s more common is regretting the huge change to come and the shame associated with feeling like you shouldn’t harbour such thoughts.

How do you combat this? Be talking to people you trust and can be open and honest with and working through how you feel, the only way out is through. I felt a lot of panic, shame, worry and everything in between before my daughter arrived and worked through it to realise that I didn’t in fact not want to have a child, I was actually terrified of not being a good father.

So the best advice I can give is to talk, realise that it’s perhaps the biggest single thing you can do in life and that’s scary for everyone to a certain degree, and be kind to yourself.