You're not alone if you smile and nod 'I'm good' when people ask how you are after childbirth, even though you're not good. You're far from good - you're exhausted; emotionally physically and mentally, always hungry, angry at everything, and a bit scared. Feigning fine is a hangover of the lingering stigma around mental health, especially in motherhood. Here is my experience of postnatal depression, and why I am challenging perceptions of it.
Did you know that postnatal depression is quite common after childbirth? Many women struggle to talk about it or even realise they have it. In my opinion, the stigma comes from societal views that having a baby is supposed to be a joyful occasion, and feeling depressed about this precious new life just isn't acceptable. Well, it's not as simple as that, with the process of matrescence perfectly summing up the complex physiological and mental shifts that can result in postnatal depression. I feel a lot of women's perinatal mental health will suffer in general in the current climate, with ante and postnatal care standards falling due to budget cuts.
