Post Natal Depression ‘higher than estimated’

It is generally estimated that 10% of new mums suffer some kind of depressive illness - yet in a new study 20% of women said they had needed treatment for PND after giving birth.

The survey by the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) found the number of mothers of children up to 1 year old who have the condition is even higher - at 27%.

PND tends to develop when the baby is about 6-8 weeks old but can start sooner, especially if the mother was depressed while pregnant.

Dame Karlene Davis, general secretary of the RCM, said: “Pregnancy is a wonderful life-changing event for some women but the transition to motherhood can trigger anxiety, severe exhaustion and depression.”