Motherhood Depression

Laura Canty is a new mum. She has her beautiful baby boy, Arthur, and a wonderful husband. She has new mum friends on the local WhatsApp group, and everyone in her life is supportive and happy for her. But Laura doesn't see it this way. In the weeks since her baby was born, like one in five women, Laura has developed post-natal depression. In fact, she has decided that the only way out of her current situation is for her to kill herself or her baby.

Following the birth of both of her sons, instead of reveling in the most joyous time of her life, Namita fell into the darkest and heaviest of post-natal depressions. She vowed that if she survived and healed through this most harrowing chapter in her life, she would rise up, break the stigma and hold that this has on women, and share her story to inspire and create hope for others and their families navigating their way through this journey.

Your body and mind go through many changes during and after pregnancy. Most women get the “baby blues”, or feel sad or empty, within a few days of giving birth. For many women, the baby blues go away in three to five days. If your baby blues don’t go away or you feel sad, hopeless, or empty for longer than two weeks, you may have postpartum depression. Feeling hopeless or empty after childbirth is not a regular or expected part of being a mother. Treatment for depression, such as therapy or medicine, works and will help you and your baby be as healthy as possible in the future.

Mommy’s Got a Tramp Stamp: The Truth About Surviving Motherhood and Finding Yourself is a book about one woman’s journey with postpartum depression and anxiety while becoming a mom. Perinatal mood disorders can impact up to one in five new mothers, and we may not always immediately recognize the signs and symptoms. Even if we do, it’s scary, and we don’t always want to ask for help.