I am obliged to them for permission to reproduce the article here. Copyright Associated Newspapers Ltd 1996. History of the Blues. What She Should Do. What He Should Do.
Postnatal depression is the answer.
For all too often the joy of becoming a mother can be followed by a dose of the blues. But the good news is our understanding of postnatal illness is increasing all the time and, as Rose Shepherd discovers, the focus now is on helping the whole family. It left Lady Tebbit unable even to recognise her baby, and Imelda Staunton almost hoped her child would die. In fact, as many as 80 per cent of women suffer some form of depression as a result of becoming a mother. Yet, as a society, we still insist on believing the birth of a child to be one of the most blissful moments in a woman's life.