Postnatal depression affects up 15pc of mothers

Question: My sister had a baby nine months ago and soon after, left her husband for no reason. She now spends all day in her room, talks to nobody, and does not seem to love her children anymore. She does not go to work and has lost a lot of weight. Could this be postnatal depression? How can she be helped?

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The most likely diagnosis from the information you have given us is one of postnatal depression and you must get your sister to a doctor as soon as possible. That way, you might save her life, marriage, children and even her job. In many ways, untreated postnatal depression is a serious condition that, if properly handled has a very good outcome.

Some years ago, a 30-year-old mother of two was brought to us by her husband who was convinced she had developed postnatal depression. The story was very similar to that of your sister. A few months after the birth of her second baby, she had changed from a loving caring, and fun-filled mother to an irritable, moody and unpredictable wife and mother. Nothing seemed to go right in her life. Either the baby was not sleeping or eating enough, or the baby cried too loudly. She complained that her husband did not care for her anymore and said she could tell this from the fact that he paid too much attention to the baby and was neglecting her emotional needs.

By the time she was brought to us she was suicidal and was admitted to the hospital with her baby. Her mother was able to come and spend a few days at the hospital and helped with the baby while our patient was given time and space to recover. In the end, and with appropriate medication and therapy, she got better and went back to work as a banker and for several years was a mental health advocate specifically for those with post-natal depression.

Her message was as simple as it was clear. First and foremost was that up to 15 percent of mothers develop the condition in the first year after delivery. Secondly that it comes with various degrees of severity, for some, as in her case so severe that one has to be hospitalised. For others it is milder and can be managed at home. Even in the milder cases, damage to relationships with the baby, husband, and friends can be significant, particularly for those who do not know of the existence of the condition.

Her other message was that the condition can occur in those whose marriages are stable and the condition is not a sign that the marriage is bad. She also persuaded women that at times, post-natal depression was made more likely by a difficult pregnancy with many complications.

A supportive family and friends were invaluable to her in the recovery. Most importantly for her was the discovery that one can get better from the deep abyss of despair that led her to consider death by suicide.

Dr Njenga is a psychiatrist and mental health consultant and author of several scientific papers and books.