Postnatal depression affects an estimated one in five New Zealand woman, writes The Marlborough Express in an editorial.
Figures like that can be nebulous, but often taking a look around your own office or factory floor and working out how many people may have suffered some form of this condition gives some perspective.
And then extrapolate that out to include partners or husbands and children.
The ripple effect is considerable.
Many woman suffering from postnatal depression don’t talk about it. And, when they do, they speak of crippling panic, or a numbness.
It is a particularly afflicting situation because it is the very time society expects a mother to be blissfully happy.
And mothers can often feel large amounts of guilt for feeling the way they do. It’s not how they are supposed to feel and not how they want to feel towards and around their child.
There is also a feeling of failure. Every women’s magazine is full of stories of celebrity mums and their babies. Mums are usually the happiest they have ever been and overjoyed at the treasure delivered into their life.
Admittedly, some brave souls have come forward and said they didn’t go through quite the same experience but that’s a rarity.
And, along with most mental-health issues, there is a “oh, just get over it” element to all of this.
Though society is improving, we still do not rate our mental health as important as our physical health. And we don’t give people suffering from postnatal depression the kind of deference and sympathy we might give to woman suffering other complications from giving birth.
But there is help out there, ranging from information to counselling to hospitalisation.
At the moment in Marlborough there is some difference of opinion over which way this province should go.
Barnados and Bread of Life have been turned down for funding to employ a counsellor for mothers who have postnatal depression. The proposal was backed by Plunket in Marlborough, who said the groups and the proposal would fill a growing need in the region.
The Nelson Marlborough District Health Board says it would rather fund an initiative through the PHOs and that would include a wider range of mental-health issues, including mood disorders, anxiety disorders, alcohol and other drug issues.
The health board’s focus was also on mild to moderate postnatal depression requirements, with severe cases being managed by specialist health services, and funded accordingly.
We have to presume that the district health board has this situation covered otherwise they would not turn down what on the face of it sounds like a good proposal with the backing of those at the coalface of this issue.
Barnados and Bread of Life are already supplying counselling at their own cost. Congratulations to them for that initiative.
However, it remains to be seen if they can continue supplying such a much-needed service without help.
Fairfax New Zealand
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