Who? What? Why?
I am a 26 year old first time mum. My daughter was born in January 2011 and following her birth I have suffered with postnatal depression.
After a healthy pregnancy and a fantastic home birth I do not remember my first moments of being a mother. The weeks following her birth began a dark time for me. I struggled to bond, I felt that didn’t know how to look after my baby, that I couldn’t comfort her or understand what she needed. I felt a failure for not managing to breastfeed. My negative feelings built up, unchecked by midwives, health visitors and GPs. It didn’t take me long to distance myself from my husband and my daughter. I hid away for three months when finally something clicked and I found the strength to ask my doctor for help. It took me a further three weeks before I was given any support, even then it was only in the form of medication. I have had to battle for help every single step of the way. Sometimes depression makes that impossible.
Now, over nine months after the birth of my daughter, things are finally starting to look up for me. I still have a long journey ahead of me but I am fighting and I am winning.
I set up this raffle as I feel so passionately about all that the Joanne Bingley Memorial Foundation are campaigning for. For a lot of mothers (and families) the services and the help that are so desperately needed are simply not offered, or worse, do not exist at all.
Postnatal depression is a horrible, debilitating, heartbreaking illness. I have lost countless precious moments to it, some people lose their lives.
Please help by signing the petition, making a donation (however big or small) or simply spreading the word. We can make a difference.
You can read more about me here.
Your so brave, I’m just begining to feel myself again after 16months of PND, you have my full suport.x
Well done you. This is a cause that really needs its profile raising.
Oh how do I subscribe so I don’t miss any of this? It’s brilliant that you are doing this x
You are doing such an amazing thing, good luck with it all, I’m doing all I can to support you with this as of now. Best wishes xx
Hi. Just wanted to let you know your website is reaching people and I’ve donated and signed the e-petition. Best of luck with the rest of your fundraising for what is undoubtedly an incredibly worthy, albeit not very well known/understood, cause.
I just want to say that I support what you are doing here. It was Mammasaurus who brought this to my attention.
I’m very lucky not to have had PND, but I did have some really horrible times in the early days after my son was born, especially when he wouldn’t stop crying all evening. It was only the support of my husband, friends and family that got me through. I can’t imagine how much more awful it must be to have PND, but two of my friends had PND and that gave me some idea.
This is amazing, well done you. I had a little boy in January 2011 as well and had a truly scary and awful time for several months. Thankfully, I had a lovely health visitor who listened and helped me to realise that I was not alone and that things would, in time, get better and they did. I will try and donate now and have signed the petition! Thank you for raising awareness about PND and helping people to talk about it more openly
You are fantastic. How can I help with any of this?