The postpartum mental health conversation society keeps getting wrong.
Let’s talk about the part of motherhood we’re still uncomfortable talking about.
Women are told;
“Motherhood is the most beautiful thing in the world.”
“Enjoy every moment.”
“You’ll forget the hard parts.”
“You should be grateful.”
So no wonder when women don’t feel okay, they feel so much shame and fear speaking up and seeking help.
Postpartum Depression is Common (despite what society leads you to believe...)
POST PARTUM DEPRESSION ISN’T RARE.
🇦🇺 AUSTRALIA
About 1 in 7 women experience postnatal depression in the first year after having a baby.
🇺🇸 USA
Around 1 in 8 women with a recent live birth report symptoms of postpartum depression.
🇬🇧 UK
More than 1 in 10 women develop postnatal depression within a year of giving birth.
When we look at perinatal mental health more broadly, Australia estimates around 1 in 5 women experience anxiety, depression or other mental-health challenges during pregnancy or the first year after birth.
These aren’t women who simply “aren’t coping.”
This is a significant mental health issue affecting mothers and families.
Sources: Australian Government Department of Health & Disability and Ageing; healthdirect; CDC; NHS. Figures refer to different populations and definitions, so they should not be directly compared as identical measures.
What Postpartum Depression looks like
Post Partum Depression can look like sadness.
It can also look like:
anxiety
numbness
hopelessness
irritability
guilt
withdrawal
difficulty bonding
feeling completely overwhelmed.
And sometimes?
Nobody notices.
Romanticising the "strong mother"
Society has romanticised the “strong mother.”
She gets up.
She feeds the baby.
She smiles for the photos.
She hosts the visitors.
She says:
“I’m just tired.”
Meanwhile, internally:
she is drowning and struggling.
Postpartum Psychosis
Then there is postpartum psychosis.
This is NOT the same as postnatal depression.
It is rare, affecting around 1 – 2 in every 1,000 women or birthing parents.
It is a psychiatric emergency.
Symptoms can include hallucinations, delusions, paranoia, severe confusion, extreme mood changes and profound disruption to sleep and thinking.
Sources: PANDA Australia; NHS. Information accessed August 2026.
Postpartum Mental Health
This is where the conversation gets uncomfortable. When a mother experiences severe mental illness, society can be incredibly quick to ask:
“What kind of mother would do that?”
Before asking:
“What was happening to this woman psychologically?”
Understanding mental illness is not
the same thing as excusing harm.
Both truths can exist.
Postpartum Mental Health - Lindsay Clancy
The Lindsay Clancy case has brought postpartum psychosis into the public conversation again.
Three children died.
That horror should never be minimised.
Her case also forces society to confront something deeply uncomfortable:
How well do we actually recognise psychiatric emergencies after childbirth?
That is a question worth asking without pretending we know every answer.
Postpartum Shame
THERE IS THE SHAME.
Hayden Panettiere publicly spoke about her postpartum depression and her struggles with addiction. According to Panettiere, after she spoke openly about her postpartum depression on live television, Neutrogena ended her 10-year relationship with the brand.
A woman said:
“I was not okay.”
instead of meeting that vulnerability with compassion…she says she was made to feel that her honesty could make her less commercially desirable.
Think about the message that sends to women:
Be honest about your mental health.
But not so honest that it makes people uncomfortable.
Because apparently you can be the face of a beauty brand for a decade…until your reality becomes less beautiful.
A message to mothers suffering after having a baby
Here is what I want women to know:
You can love your baby
and be depressed.
You can be grateful
and be struggling.
You can look happy
and be falling apart.
You can be a good mother
and need psychiatric help.
Mental illness does not make you a bad mother.
Asking for help does not make you weak.
Yes, we should continue asking new mothers:
“How’s the baby?”
And ALSO start asking:
“How are YOU?”
Not the polite version.
Not the version she thinks you want to hear.
The real version.
Motherhood should never require a woman to suffer silently to prove that she loves her child.
Postpartum Resources
If you’re experiencing postpartum depression, severe anxiety, thoughts of harming yourself or your baby, or symptoms of postpartum psychosis, please seek professional help urgently.
🇦🇺 Australia
Lifeline: 13 11 14
24/7 crisis support
SMS: 0477 13 11 14
🇺🇸 USA
988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: 988
For immediate mental-health crisis support.
Postpartum Support International: 1-800-944-4773
Text “HELP” to 800-944-4773
🇬🇧 UK
Samaritans: 116 123
Free, 24/7 emotional support.
Maternal Mental Health Alliance: specialist perinatal mental health support and services.
If you or your baby are in immediate danger, call your local emergency services or go to the nearest emergency department.
You are not a bad mother for needing help.
You are a human being who deserves support.
