PA
A report by the charity 4children claims that one in ten new mums experience post-natal depression, with around a third being too scared to tell anyone about it in case their children are taken away from them.
The study found that 70,000 women a year suffer PND, yet more than half suffer in silence, thinking their symptoms are serious enough to seek treatment.
The charity also discovered that many women are simply prescribed anti-depressants for their PND, even though better treatments are available. Researchers found that 70 per cent of the women they polled were given medication by their GPs, even though the guidelines for treating post-natal depression from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence says that talking therapies should be offered to women with a mild or moderate diagnosis.
Anne Longfield, spokeswoman for 4Children says more should be done to raise awareness of PND and to help those women affected: 'Too many families are suffering the consequences in silence, and when they do seek help, often encounter a wall of indifference and a lack of empathy from medical professionals with an over-reliance on anti-depressants for treatment. This report calls for an end to the neglect of this illness.'
Do you agree?
Did you suffer PND? Were you too scared to tell anyone about it, or did you seek help?