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From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.<\/p>\n
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.<\/p>\n
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.<\/p>\n
Your support makes all the difference.<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nRead more<\/span><\/svg><\/span><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nUp to 85,000 new mothers in England may have been impacted by postnatal depression last year, according to new analysis.<\/p>\n
The illness can be \u201ctruly devastating\u201d when left untreated, potentially leading to the \u201cunnecessary\u201d deaths of women and sometimes their babies, the Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCPsych) warned.<\/p>\n
Postnatal depression, which affected almost 15 per cent of new mothers in the last 12 months, is a condition that can develop after childbirth.<\/p>\n
While many women may feel tearful or anxious after giving birth, this does not usually last for more than two weeks.<\/p>\n
Persistent feelings of sadness, low mood, a lack of interest in things and a lack of energy could indicate postnatal depression.<\/p>\n
Other symptoms can include trouble sleeping, withdrawing from other people, problems concentrating and scary thoughts, such as thinking about hurting your baby.<\/p>\n
Using Office for National Statistics data which shows there were 567,708 live births in 2024, RCPsych estimates between 56,000 to 85,000 mothers \u2013 or between 10 per cent to 15 per cent \u2013 may have experienced postnatal depression.<\/p>\n
The college highlights that maternal suicide is the leading cause of death in women from six weeks to a year after birth and also said prenatal mental illness \u2013 conditions that develop during pregnancy \u2013 can put unborn babies at risk of premature birth or low birth weight.<\/p>\n
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Postnatal depression affected almost 15 per cent of new mothers in the last year, according to new research (PA)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\nRCPsych is urging women and their partners to seek support for these treatable conditions.<\/p>\n
Dr Trudi Seneviratne, consultant perinatal psychiatrist and immediate past RCPsych registrar, said: \u201cWomen can experience an enormous amount of change, including increased stress factors when they become pregnant, and this may negatively affect their mental health.<\/p>\n
\u201cPostnatal depression is far more common than many people realise and can have a devastating impact on mothers, babies and families if left untreated.\u201d<\/p>\n
Treatment for postnatal depression can include talking therapies or antidepressants.<\/p>\n
Dr Seneviratne stressed that medics are trained to ensure medication is safe to take when pregnant or breastfeeding, and warned that the risks of untreated depression outweigh the risk of antidepressants.<\/p>\n
\u201cMothers who receive talking therapy and other forms of care from mental health services will often be able to recover, but some might be so unwell that they need medication, including antidepressants,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cMedication helps save lives. The dangers of untreated depression far outweigh the risks of antidepressants.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe unnecessary deaths of mothers and sometimes their babies that result from failure to treat these conditions are truly devastating.<\/p>\n
\u201cDoctors are trained to ensure that the medication they prescribe is as safe as possible to take while pregnant or breastfeeding. Medication should be reviewed regularly, and any side effects closely monitored.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor children to thrive, they need as good a start in life as possible, and this is important not only for the child and their mother but also communities and society as well. We all have a role to play in ensuring mothers and their partners feel confident seeking support when they need it.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story. The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it. Your support makes all the difference. Read more Up to 85,000 new mothers in England may have been impacted by postnatal depression last year, according to new analysis. The illness can be \u201ctruly devastating\u201d when left untreated, potentially leading to the \u201cunnecessary\u201d deaths of women and sometimes their babies, the Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCPsych) warned. Postnatal depression, which affected almost 15 per cent of new mothers in the last 12 months, is a condition that can develop after childbirth. While many women may feel tearful or anxious after giving birth, this does not usually last for more than two weeks. Persistent feelings of sadness, low mood, a lack of interest in things and a lack of energy could indicate postnatal depression. Other symptoms can include trouble sleeping, withdrawing from other people, problems concentrating and scary thoughts, such as thinking about hurting your baby. Using Office for National Statistics data which shows there were 567,708 live births in 2024, RCPsych estimates between 56,000 to 85,000 mothers \u2013 or between 10 p…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3926,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3925"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3925"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3925\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3926"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3925"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3925"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3925"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}