For many women motherhood is everything they hoped it would be.
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For some, however, the crippling pain of postnatal depression is their reality.
“One in seven new mothers will experience postnatal depression in the year following the birth of a baby,” Maitland midwife Liz Holle said.
“That’s 100,000 women in Australia during the past year, so this problem is massive.”
Ms Holle and fellow local midwife Alex Collins have created a service to help combat the mental health issue that plagues new mothers.
Cuddle Up Baby Care provides personalised postnatal care including settling techniques and infant feeding.
“There’s been a huge decrease in government funding for community services such as counselling for women with postnatal depression, so we want to get in there and help before this manifests into something much bigger,” Ms Collins said.
“It’s well documented that good postnatal support will reduce the risks of postnatal depression.”
Largs woman and mother-of-four Melanie Hill, 40, said the program was vital to Maitland mothers.
“Between four to eight weeks the baby starts to stay awake a bit more and that’s when you might need help,” Ms Hill, who gave birth to daughter Amalie Lavis two months ago, said. “I can certainly see that’s when some women might need extra support.”
Ms Holle said the effects of fatigue and postnatal depression increase significantly in the first few months of new parent life.
“Many families require additional support, however, in our modern world our extended family are not always as close as we’d like,” she said.
“Expectations for mothers to cope have also increased, leaving some people too scared to ask for help.”
For more information phone Ms Collins on 0487 849 536, Ms Holle on 0475 601 763 or email info@cuddleup.com.au.