Episode 41
Kate Forbes MSP – juggling parenthood, politics and crippling post-natal depression
“I got home and that’s when the sort of night terrors and the day terrors started. I was overwhelmed by fear for the baby’s health, I assumed I would be the person that would cause her pain and suffering and therefore it would have been better for me to be elsewhere”
Key takeaways from this podcast
- We need to normalise the conversation about post-natal depression without stigma or judgement.
- Post-natal mental health difficulties can manifest themselves in several different ways
- None of the conditions associated with post-natal depression mean that you are a bad mother or parent.
Kate Forbes MSP talks candidly about what she went through as one of the 1 in 10 women who experience crippling post-natal depression, something which left her with a deep fear of her baby daughter coming to harm.
In this engaging and utterly honest conversation Kate talks about her expectations of becoming a mum and how the reality left her feeling like a total failure, out of control and unable to sleep for fear of something bad happening to her daughter, Naomi. Nothing had prepared her for the psychological turmoil of post-natal depression, she didn’t even realise that what she was experiencing was post-natal depression. Kate also shares how the experience has changed her as a politician, made her more compassionate and want to focus on mental health support across society.
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Speaking of Suicide is produced and presented by Adventurous Audio
