Postnatal depression

About three days after birth, when the hormone levels from pregnancy rapidly return to their normal pre-pregnancy values, the new mother may feel weepy for no particular reason. This is called ‘The Blues’ and usually only lasts a day or two.

Many women feel mildly depressed in the first few months after birth, reflecting the great strain brought about by becoming a mother. For some women many repressed issues surrounding their own personality and childhood experiences can no longer be hidden away and must be addressed.

If you feel this way you are not alone. Please talk to someone and get professional help, so that you can enjoy your experience of being a mother (and father, as the case may be). A very small number of women develop severe depression or psychosis after delivery, typically becoming quiet, withdrawn and inappropriate in their behaviour. These women need specialist psychiatric help, often requiring formal admission and drug therapy to restore the mother to her normal self.