Ashamed. Anxious. Allergic. Abnormal. Afraid.
There are many ways to verbalise the emotions experienced by some new mothers, but few elicit the journey quite like So Much More than the Baby Blues – an audio documentary on Post Natal Depression produced by Beat’s Shonagh Lyons.
Having brought her daughter Eve into the world on St. Stephen’s Day 2014, Shonagh wanted to feel what every mother felt – but didn’t.
“Ashamed. Anxious. Abnormal.”
Beat’s @ShoLyons, and other brave Mothers in the South East, open up about their past battles with Post Natal Depression.
Sunday. 10am.#SundayGrill#SoMuchMoreThanTheBabyBlues pic.twitter.com/B2jNCCElhe
— Beat 102 103 (@beat102103) March 7, 2019
What followed was a challenging journey; one of acceptance and understanding, or as Shonagh puts it, “learning how to breathe all over again”.
Appearances might be deceptive, but they find themselves to be king in a world fuelled by social media dependence. More than ever, mothers-to-be are expected to have perfect deliveries, perfect babies and perfect lives as they hashtag their way towards a maternal utopia.
In Ireland, 60% of women struggle in some shape or form after childbirth, with a further 11% going on to develop some form of anxiety, depression or psychosis. Post Natal Depression (PND) falls under this very umbrella.
As Shonagh’s documentary reveals through both her own and others’ accounts, PND is so much more than just the baby blues.
Shonagh also spoke about the documentary to Orla Rapple in a Sunday Grill Extra podcast.
To contact Postnatal Depression Ireland, call 021-4922083 or email [email protected]. Samaritans’ 24-hour freephone helpline is at 116-123; you can also message 087-2609090 (standard text rates apply) or email jo@samaritans.ie in the Republic or [email protected] in Northern Ireland.
