'The veil of shame around postnatal depression needs to go'

A woman smiling at the camera with her teeth showing and her blonde hair tied back. Her son is next to her also with a big smile on his face, wearing a navy top and with his blonde hair cut short with a fringe.

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Laura gave birth to her son Arthur in 2018

ByMarcus Boothe, Alexandra Bassingham and Chloe Harcombe, West of England

Published39 minutes ago

"Women, since the beginning of time, have birthed and looked after children and I just couldn't be bothered. I thought I was lazy."

Those are the words of Laura, 45, from Cheltenham, in Gloucestershire, who weeks after undergoing an emergency Caesarean section struggled so much with postnatal depression that she needed psychiatric care.

The NHS says postnatal depression, external, also known as postpartum depression, is a "common" mental health condition that can happen after having a baby.

"Postnatal depression can happen to anyone and this is why the veil of shame needs to come down, through education or through listening to people," said Laura.

If you are affected by any issues raised in this article, help is available at BBC Action Line

Negative thoughts

Laura said her birthing experience with her son Arthur in June 2018 was "traumatic but incredibly quick" after he became "very stressed" in the final stages.

About two months after his arrival, Laura said simple household chores triggered negative thoughts which eventually spiralled into suicidal thoughts.

"I used to think anything I did wasn't good enough," Laura said. "I thought, 'I'm a fraud, they all think I've got something wrong with me'."

Laura and Arthur were admitted to the mother and baby unit at the Barberry - a national centre for mental health in Birmingham.

There, Laura received 10 weeks of specialist inpatient care which she said had made all the difference.

A woman in a selfie-style picture with her baby laying sleeping on her chest. The woman is looking at the camera with a slight smile on her face. She looks tired.

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Jade's birthing experience did not work out the way she had hoped

For Jade, 33, from Sherbourne in Dorset, it was a peri-mental health team and an admission to a mother and baby unit in Bournemouth that helped her to get better.

She experienced postpartum psychosis, external about two weeks after she gave birth to her daughter in December 2020.

Jade said she had spent almost three days in labour before she was induced and she finally delivered her daughter with the help of forceps.

"I didn't realise at the time but, after going through therapy, I realise it was quite a traumatic delivery," she said.

"I experienced tearfulness right away and I think that was trying to process it as I'd wanted a water birth, so it was very different to what I'd envisioned."

A woman and a man sit together in a close moment with their baby on their laps between them, while they hold hands. The man is kissing the woman on the head. It is is a quiet, close moment between a young family. They are all wearing light-coloured clothing and the woman has her long blonde hair falling over her shoulders.

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Jade said her family and friends did not know what psychosis was or what the signs were

Jade sought counselling for her symptoms but was told the NHS was stretched. She was asked if she could seek private help instead.

In March 2021, she was prescribed anti-depressants but she suffered her first psychotic episode two weeks later.

"I was in a completely different reality," she said. "I felt at a loss and things were getting progressively worse.

"I was getting intrusive thoughts which I was too scared to say out loud."

A woman is smiling at the camera in a selfie-style picture with a baby in a sling with just its head in a hat visible. The woman is also wearing a hat and is out in the countryside.

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Jade said she was in "a completely different reality" after she gave birth to her daughter in 2020

Although she experienced depression following her return home and a relapse of psychosis in January 2024, Jade said the consistent support from her community mental health team and her care co-ordinator had been a "complete lifeline".

Jade said she wanted to share her experience so people knew what the signs of postpartum psychosis were.

"If a mum is acting out of character... and the unusual behaviour isn't right, it's really important that's flagged and is seen as a medical emergency," she said.

A blonde woman holding a red book entitled Something To Live For. She is holding it and smiling while looking directly at the camera.

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Laura wrote a book to share her experience with postnatal depression and to raise awareness of the condition

After her diagnosis, Laura began to volunteer with the perinatal mental health team "as a way to give back" to the NHS, which she said had carried her through "the lowest time of her life".

She also wrote the book Something to Live For about her experience to raise awareness of postnatal depression.

She said she had received "the most heart-warming messages" from fellow mothers and praise from fathers who credited the book with helping them to understand what their partners may have been going through after birth.