(Webinar) Postnatal depression: Coming into the light

Webinar 10:00 – 11:00 9th July 2014

Postnatal depression transformed former midwife Joanne Morton’s life in many ways. She will be talking about her experiences in our forthcoming webinar on postnatal depression at 10:00, 9 July 2014.

“Pregnancy can bring about all sorts of anxieties; a woman’s body and mind change dramatically as you prepare to give birth and take responsibility of a tiny human life.  It is not surprising some mothers struggle to cope” says Joanne.

The symptoms of postnatal depression are often not recognised, even by health professionals.

Joanne continues: “The months after my son’s birth were difficult.  In the early stages of the illness, I felt some ups and downs but put this down to tiredness.  After five months, I felt absolutely panic-stricken for no apparent reason and this anxiety led me to stop eating properly. I lost a significant amount of weight.

“I couldn’t sleep and was utterly exhausted.  I was afraid to go outside or speak to people and often wouldn’t answer the phone if it rang.  I was often in tears and couldn’t explain why.  

“At this point I knew it couldn’t continue and I spoke to my GP and health visitor.  I was put on an NHS waiting list to receive counselling but the thing with postnatal depression is that you need to get treatment straight away, not in many months time. 

“I eventually decided to pay for private counselling. I developed a brilliant relationship with my counsellor and now feel 100% recovered, but I could still not get over the alarming lack of support for mothers like me.  I knew I had to do something about it.”

Joanne’s experience prompted her to retrain as an integrative counsellor and establish House of Light, a postnatal depression support group based in Hull, and to campaign for better support for women with this condition.

Joanne adds: “A big misconception people have is that they think if they admit to having postnatal depression, their child or children will be taken away.  This just isn’t true. 

“Families and partners need to become more aware of the warning signs of postnatal depression by being told what to look out for before their partner or daughter gives birth.

“All some mothers need is an objective person to talk through their feelings and concerns and they will often get better very quickly.”

If you would like to book your place at the webinar "Can Post Natal Depression be Predicted" on 9 July, send your name, organisation (if relevant) and email address to info@psychologyonline.co.uk with “PND webinar” in the subject field.