PND survivor releases book
At her lowest point, Sonya Watson thought about driving into a power pole to end her pain.
With her baby, Jack, screaming in the back-seat, Watson was sleepdeprived, anxious and depressed after a traumatic birth and six months caring for an unwell baby who would not stop screaming.
Nine years later, she has recovered from postnatal depression and is releasing a book on the topic she co-wrote with psychologist Kathryn Whitehead, who treated her at the Mother and Babies inpatient service in Christchurch.
Postpartum Depression and Anxiety: The Definitive Survival and Recovery Approach, was released in New Zealand and overseas this month.
In it, Watson shares her struggles, while Whitehead provides information on perinatal depression and anxiety (PNAD) as well as a self-help approach to the condition.
PNAD affects about one in five women. Suicide is the leading indirect cause of maternal death in New Zealand. It is seven times more common here than in the Uk.
Watson said she had a strong sense of responsibility as a parent to look after Jack, but did not feel love for him until he was about one.
Jack screamed for hours on end, slept little and vomited his feeds. He was in and out of hospital his first year of life with issues including severe reflux, urinary tract infections and kidney stones. He was later diagnosed with Sotos syndrome, a rare genetic disorder.
‘‘Motherhood wasn’t like I expected at all,’’ Watson said.
She felt isolated with a husband who often had to travel for work and limited family support.
When she was finally referred to the mothers and babies service in Christchurch, there was a seven-week waiting list. ‘‘I felt like I’d be dead by then.’’
She eventually recovered after staying in the service with Jack for eight weeks as an inpatient and learning coping techniques for several months as an outpatient after that.
Watson had since helped hundreds of mothers through the not-for-profit PND Canterbury, which relies on donations and volunteers. It had 13 mothers on its waiting list at the end of last year.
Her husband, Devon, also suffered PND after she recovered.
The couple had a second child, Lily, at the end of 2010 and were better supported this time.
Whitehead, who has worked for 10 years at the mothers and babies inpatient service, said Watson’s story would help readers pick up red flags for themselves or others.
It was easy for midwives, Plunket nurses and GPs to miss the warning signs of PNAD and better education was needed.
‘‘There is a myth that PNAD is caused by hormones, but actually the biggest risk factor is a lack of social support.
‘‘People need to know it’s normal to feel vulnerable when becoming parents and it’s OK to ask for help.’’
PNAD could be treated effectively with medication, therapy or a mix of both.