What is Post Natal Depression?
As many as one woman in five will develop Postnatal Depression (PND) and in some circumstances the risk is even higher. Postnatal Depression is common following childbirth and you are more likely to develop a mental illness at this time than during any other time in your life.
When women think of Postnatal Depression they often confuse this with the Baby Blues, a mild tearfulness a few days after the birth of their baby. This weepiness disappears in a couple of days. The other illness women mistakenly think of as PND is Puerperal Psychosis, a severe but very rare illness often apparent soon after childbirth requiring hospital treatment.
Postnatal Depression is much slower to reveal itself, it tends to occur 4-6 weeks following childbirth often lasting from 3 months and if untreated much longer. Some of the symptoms are quite difficult to identify to the untrained eye but are picked up by those who know what they are looking for.
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