A Tasmanian mother says the soon-to-close St Helen's mother and baby unit saved her life

Emma Helks cried when she heard the mother-baby unit at the St Helen's Private Hospital would be closing. (ABC News: Luke Bowden)

• In short: A new mother-baby unit will be established at the Royal Hobart Hospital before the state's only current facility is due to close late next month.
• What's next?  Critics say the new unit will not have as many beds as the previous service, but the Premier says it is just a "starting point". 

When Emma Helks's son Theo was born, the joyous occasion became clouded by a depression that reached dangerous levels.