PND and me...

I should start this blog by saying, I am not qualified to write this blog. I am not medically trained and I am not (as far as I am aware) a suffer of Post Natal Depression. So why and how can I write about it?

Being a new mother you can't help but be aware of PND, even before the birth, any books or magazines will mention it, and fill you with the fear that you might get the dreaded D. Then there is the birth, and the first visit from the Health Visitor...
"So how are you feeling."
"I'm fine, I feel like I just had a baby, but Im fine".
"Well, we will come back at the three month stage, because thats when it can set in,"
"What?"
"The depression."
"oh, right"

So Three months came and went, and I waited for it's arrival... But it never came, I was lucky I suppose, a recent study suggests as many as 1 in 5 new mothers will suffer with PND. I was one of the other 4.

If I have not been touched personally by it then why should I blog about it, what right have I got? Well I have recently read some wonderfully brave blogs by strong women who face the daily battle against the illness. I was taken aback by their courage at speaking so clearly and honestly about the battles they face.   I realised that if I do want to work in the world of pregnancy health and birth health then this is something that I should be aware of, and it made me realise what little knowledge I had of PND.

Before I read about real women suffering PND, I have to be honest, I thought (much like the rest of the public) that it was just a bit of an extension of the baby blues, crying, and feeling a bit sorry for yourself. I had no idea of the level of anxiety these women faced, the darkness and the physical as well as mental symptoms of the illness. More than anything, I am in awe of the strength of these women to be so honest about their feelings. I am embarrassed to talk about my own feelings of failure as a mother (yes we all have them) but to stand up talk openly about suffering PND I think is not only incredibly brave, but also something that is essential to remove the stigma and ignorance that surrounds the illness.

So although I have no right to write this blog I have done so for two reasons. 1) to pay homage to the women who have written such wonderfully informative blogs and 2) Just to talk about it, because although I still know very little about PND, I do know that there should be no shame or stigma in an illness (which if the statistic of 1 in 5 is true) is more common than suffering from migraines.

PND. Talk about it. End the Stigma.