Postnatal Depression: Recognising It, And Getting Help

New mothers often find it hard to cope with their postnatal fat and childbirth depression. If you too have been experiencing similar problems, try using Yoga as a solution.

Postnatal depression and postnatal weight are frequently discussed together, as though one caused the other and exercise fixed both. They’re separate things, and treating depression as a fitness problem is how women end up going untreated for months.

Exercise helps mood, and it’s a reasonable part of recovery.

It isn’t a treatment for moderate or severe postnatal depression. If you’re unwell, you need care, and being told to go to a yoga class is one of the ways the condition gets minimised.

Baby blues or postnatal depression


Baby blues	Postnatal depression
Starts around day three to five	Can begin any time in the first year
Resolves within about two weeks	Persists, and often deepens
Tearful, emotional, up and down	Persistent low mood, or numbness
Still enjoys things between the crying	Little enjoyment in anything
Affects the majority of new mothers	Affects roughly one in seven
Needs rest and support	Needs treatment

What to look for

Low mood, or feeling flat and unable to feel anything, most of the day, for more than two weeks
No enjoyment in things that used to be enjoyable
Hopelessness, or a persistent sense of being a bad mother
Difficulty bonding with the baby, or feeling detached from them
Being unable to sleep even when the baby sleeps
Appetite changes
Constant anxiety, or checking on the baby compulsively
Withdrawing from people
Thoughts that the family would be better off without you

About intrusive thoughts. Frightening, unwanted thoughts about harm coming to the baby are common in postnatal depression and anxiety, and they’re one of the main reasons women don’t seek help, because they fear their baby will be taken away.

Having such thoughts and being horrified by them is a symptom of anxiety, not an intention. It’s treatable, and it’s safe to tell a doctor about it. Keeping it hidden is what prolongs it.

When it’s an emergency

Postpartum psychosis is rare, around one or two in a thousand births, and it’s a medical emergency requiring immediate attention.

Signs: confusion, not making sense, severe agitation or unusual elation, paranoia, hearing or seeing things that aren’t there, beliefs that are clearly untrue, or thoughts of harming yourself or the baby that feel compelling, not horrifying.

Go to A&E, or call 995. Don’t wait for a scheduled appointment, and don’t leave the person alone.

Depression in fathers

Around one in ten fathers experiences depression in the first year, and almost none are screened for it. It presents differently, with more irritability, anger, withdrawal, working late, drinking, and is frequently mistaken for being unsupportive.

Ask directly. And a father’s depression affects the child’s development, so it isn’t a secondary concern.

Getting help in Singapore

Tell your obstetrician or GP at the postnatal check, or before it. You don’t need to wait for the appointment.
KKH runs a Women’s Emotional Health Service specifically for perinatal depression and anxiety; other hospitals have equivalent perinatal mental health support.
Your polyclinic can refer you.
Samaritans of Singapore: 1767, any hour, and CareText on WhatsApp at 9151 1767.
Treatment works. Talking therapy for milder cases, medication where needed. Many antidepressants are compatible with breastfeeding, so that isn’t a reason to go untreated. Ask specifically instead of assuming you have to choose.

What helps alongside treatment

Sleep. The most powerful and least available factor. If anyone can take a night feed so you get one unbroken stretch, that’s worth more than most interventions.
Movement, at whatever level is possible. A daily walk outdoors has reasonable evidence for mood, and it’s achievable when a class isn’t.
Daylight, early, outdoors.
Other people. Isolation makes everything worse, and the first year is structurally isolating.
Eating properly, which is the first thing to go.
Practical help, not advice. Ask for specific things.

About postnatal weight

Since the two get conflated: there’s no deadline for returning to a previous body, “bouncing back” is a marketing concept, not a medical one, and crash dieting while recovering from birth and possibly breastfeeding is a poor idea on every count.

Start with the pelvic floor, then walking, then gradually more. See a women’s health physiotherapist about any abdominal separation, leaking or heaviness before returning to running or high-impact exercise. Six to twelve months is an ordinary timeframe and many women’s bodies don’t return to exactly what they were, which isn’t a failure.

Frequently asked questions

What’s the difference between baby blues and postnatal depression?

Baby blues starts around day three to five, resolves within about two weeks, and affects most new mothers. Postnatal depression can begin any time in the first year, persists and often deepens, involves little enjoyment in anything, and affects roughly one in seven. The blues need rest and support; depression needs treatment.

Can exercise treat postnatal depression?

It helps mood and is a reasonable part of recovery, but it isn’t a treatment for moderate or severe postnatal depression. Being directed to a fitness class instead of care is one of the ways this condition gets minimised and left untreated.

I’m having frightening thoughts about my baby. What does that mean?

Unwanted, distressing thoughts about harm are common in postnatal depression and anxiety, and being horrified by them is a symptom, not an intention. It’s treatable and telling a doctor is safe. Fear that the baby will be taken away is one of the main reasons women stay silent, and keeping it hidden is what prolongs it.

When is it an emergency?

Postpartum psychosis: confusion, severe agitation or unusual elation, paranoia, hallucinations, clearly untrue beliefs, or thoughts of harm that feel compelling, not horrifying. It’s rare, around one or two in a thousand births, and it’s a medical emergency. Go to A&E or call 995, and don’t leave the person alone.

Can fathers get postnatal depression?

Yes, around one in ten, and almost none are screened. It often presents as irritability, anger, withdrawal, working late or drinking, and gets mistaken for being unsupportive. It also affects the child’s development, so it isn’t a secondary concern.

Can I take antidepressants while breastfeeding?

Many are compatible with breastfeeding, so this isn’t a reason to go untreated. Ask your doctor specifically instead of assuming you have to choose between the two.

The main points

Depression and weight are different problems. Exercise helps mood; it doesn’t treat postnatal depression.

Two weeks is the line. Beyond that, low mood, no enjoyment, hopelessness or constant anxiety needs a doctor, not more time.

Frightening intrusive thoughts are a symptom and it’s safe to say them out loud. Confusion, paranoia or compelling urges are an emergency. A&E or 995.

And ask about fathers too. One in ten, almost never screened.