| HOME |
ABOUT POSTNATAL DEPRESSION
Symptoms of PND can become apparent at any time in the first year after childbirth, but usually do so within the first six months. Symptoms often emerge gradually and subtly, over several months. For some women, symptoms of PND emerge suddenly.
Symptoms of depression can appear during pregnancy. When this occurs, the condition is called ‘antenatal depression’. Sometimes, when the baby is born, these feelings pass. Often, though, they persist, and may signal the onset of PND. Because some of the symptoms of depression - tiredness, sleep disturbance, and appetite changes, for example - are common in pregnant women who are not depressed, antenatal depression is not always recognised, either by the woman affected, or by the health professionals who are monitoring her pregnancy.