I feared losing my child due to postpartum depression.

Around one in five women experience mental health problems during pregnancy and after giving birth, but many are afraid to seek help due to stigma.

Hope Cawood experienced severe postnatal depression after giving birth to her second child during lockdown.

The 34-year-old woman from Aberdeen told the BBC she fears seeking help could mean losing custody of her children.

“I thought if I told the midwife how I was feeling and what I was doing, she would take my baby away from me,” she said.

Suicide is the number one cause of death for newborns during the first year after birth.

Hope suffered mental health issues after both pregnancies and struggled to bond with her children.

She said the problems started after the highly traumatic birth of her first son.

Complications from the birth left Hope unable to see her baby for three days as doctors feared she would die.

She was later diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression and anxiety.

She had no complications during her second pregnancy, but after giving birth she fell into a deep depression that lasted a year.

“I felt like I was drowning and there was no way to get back up,” she said.

“Deep, dark thoughts kept coming to me and I just couldn’t bond with him and didn’t know why.

“I was scared to go to bed at night, I was scared to have to do it again in the morning, and I couldn't understand why I felt so sad when I had such a beautiful baby.”

Hope said she even screamed in her baby's face, asking him what he wanted.

“I broke down in tears and said I wasn't a good mother and that if I told anyone how I felt my children would be taken away from me,” she said.

Eventually, Hope sought help from a psychiatrist and underwent cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). According to her, that was a big change.

She also attended support groups where other women shared their stories.

Feeling like things “finally fell into place”, Hope is now training to become a counselor to help other women going through what she went through.

“I think there are still a lot of prejudices to break down, and I think there are a lot of people who are afraid to talk about how they feel,” she said.

“When you admit something like that, they feel like they're a bad mother. I wish there was more recognition for that, but I think we're moving in the right direction. ”

Hope wants women experiencing perinatal mental health issues to know that their feelings are normal and that help is available.

Reflecting the growing demand for mental health services and evolving evidence, Scotland's health watchdog has published new guidelines on perinatal mental health for the first time in more than a decade.

The guidelines, developed by Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS), include versions aimed at both patients and healthcare professionals, with the aim of improving care and reducing stigma.

Dr Selena Greedouware, consultant perinatal psychiatrist and co-chair of the HIS Guideline Development Group, said mental health problems during or after pregnancy were “alarmingly common”. Ta.

“We now know that there are different difficulties that postnatal depression can go through. I think traditionally, it was much more comfortable talking about postnatal depression.”

She further added: She said: “We know that asking for help can be difficult and many people are worried about coming forward.

“Unfortunately, there is still a lot of stigma and fear that if we are open, we will be criticized or seen as unfit mothers or parents.

“We hope this helps women access information, realise there is support and they can improve their situation.”

A key development is a new app for patients, which lists specific mental illnesses and provides links to information and support, recommendations for planning and treatment available to patients.

Patients can leave comments and reflections about their feelings, which can then be accessed later by medical professionals.

The new toolkit also includes information on previously not covered mental illnesses, such as birth trauma and borderline personality disorder.

There is also up-to-date safety advice on the use of medicines for mental health during pregnancy and breastfeeding.