It’s a scandal that so many mothers with postnatal depression are abandoned | Vonny Moyes

A report shows only 7% of women with pregnancy-related mental health problems get the specialist care they need. We need a more holistic approach

Postnatal depression – would you recognise it? I didn’t. I thought I had a fairly good understanding of how these things manifest themselves in women, until my own pregnancy proved otherwise. What followed was not smiles and love, but a growing emptiness consuming my world from the inside out.

Looking back, I can see how conspicuously absent discussion of such emotions is from our preparation for motherhood. The fact that we don’t know enough about postnatal depression, and rarely acknowledge the mental health implications of starting a family, means it’s hard to spot – in ourselves and in the women we know and love.

Related: Pregnancy and mental health: the hidden pain of giving birth

Related: These brave mothers’ stories must chip away at the stigma of postnatal mental illness | Alain Gregoire

Continue reading...

from Pregnancy | The Guardian http://ift.tt/2maSoyk