postnatal depression

It’s perfectly normal to have feelings of grief and self doubt when weaning from breastfeeding happens earlier than you have planned. But there can be other, strong emotions, including vicious mood swings that can be related to weaning, whatever the age of your child or if this was a ‘natural’ weaning decided by your baby or a gradual ‘mother –led’…

We hear a lot about postpartum depression, but depression can also take place during pregnancy. In fact, it is almost as common. One of the best ways to avoid to severe postnatal depression is to receive diagnosis and treatment during pregnancy. But with so many bodily changes and outside demands during pregnancy, how do you know what is and isn’t…

While it is awful watching a friend suffer with depression, especially if she seems to be pushing you away, there are ways to show your support. Here are some suggestions from mums who have been there. Consider which steps you can take, start small and please don’t take it personally if your efforts don’t seem appreciated right now. Remember,…

“I was incredibly stressed and I knew something was very wrong but I thought, I am a mum, I should be able to cope,” says Sandy, a Melbourne mother of two who was diagnosed with postnatal depression when her first baby (now three) was three months old. Sandy’s bubble of pretence burst when, after a few days in a mother baby unit, she was told it…

"Postnatal depletion can happen whether this is your first baby or a subsequent child and this depletion can be an accumulative process – you conceive a baby, grow a baby, birth a baby then breastfeed, then throw in some sleep deprivation and the emotional stress of adjusting to this new role along with unrealistic expectations that you should be…

As soon as your baby bump begins to show, it seems that everyone and his grandmother will have a wealth of advice to share with you. They mean well but they probably won't share these five things that you really need to know know - just so you don't worry, 'are we the only ones who 'suck' at this?  Let's bust this conspiracy of silence so you don't…

taking care of a baby is a full time job in itself – well, without the lunch and tea breaks and, most of the day, without a coworker to laugh with or bitch to when the going gets tough. And, did you know that even the most easy going baby takes at least nine hours of ‘hands on’ care each day (and night)? It’s time to cut yourself some slack and…

My stinging sleep deprived eyes would well up as I detailed my baby's wakeful habits and I'd cop the standard lines of, 'have you tried swaddling', 'putting him down drowsy but awake', 'bedtime routine', 'listen for his protest cry it's different to his emotional cry', 'it's because you're still feeding him', 'you need to not hold him, you've built…

‘Have you tried talking about this in your mum’s group?’ I asked, Sonya, a mum who was struggling with an unsettled baby, a partner who worked long hours and no family close by.   It turned out that Sonya felt very isolated, even though she lived in the city, within walking distance of cafes and her child health centre. She was anxious about…