Postpartum depression

Tania is the face of the most-watched Eid drama of the year, and the photographs of her baby girl have been shared by half the country. The relatives are delighted, the mishti has been sent to every flat in the building. Tania cannot stop crying. She feels nothing when she holds her daughter, and then feels terrible for feeling nothing. Her mother-in-law says all new mothers are tired.

An illustration drawn from common experience. The person is invented; the pattern is not.

Understanding postpartum depression

Many new mothers have a few days of tearfulness after birth, often called the baby blues, which pass by themselves. Postpartum depression is deeper and lasts longer: low mood, anxiety, exhaustion beyond the baby’s demands, feeling disconnected from the baby, guilt, and sometimes frightening thoughts. It can begin in pregnancy or any time in the first year.

Rarely, in about 0.9 to 2.6 of every 1,000 women after childbirth in the studies reviewed, a mother develops postpartum psychosis, with confusion, very unusual beliefs or behaviour, or hearing and seeing things. This is a psychiatric emergency.

How common is postpartum depression?

Worldwide about 13% of women who have just given birth experience a mental disorder, mainly depression, WHO reports. Studies in Bangladesh find higher rates: a 2025 meta-analysis of 18 studies from 2000 to 2020 pooled a prevalence of postnatal depression of 27.75%, more than one mother in four, though results varied widely between studies.

Signs and symptoms of postpartum depression

• Low mood, tearfulness or anxiety lasting more than two weeks after birth
• Feeling detached from the baby, or unable to enjoy anything
• Not sleeping even when the baby sleeps
• Thoughts of harming yourself or the baby: seek help the same day

Treatment for postpartum depression

Postpartum depression responds to treatment. Psychological therapy helps, and some medicines are compatible with breastfeeding, a decision made carefully with the doctor. Family matters too: practical help at night, and a household that understands this is an illness, not ingratitude.

What getting better can look like

The sign, for Tania, might be a morning, a few weeks into treatment, when her daughter grips her finger and she notices she is smiling, with no camera anywhere near.

Common questions about postpartum depression

What is the difference between baby blues and postpartum depression?

Many new mothers have a few days of tearfulness after birth, often called the baby blues, which pass by themselves. Postpartum depression is deeper and lasts longer, with low mood, anxiety, exhaustion, guilt or feeling disconnected from the baby. Low mood that lasts more than two weeks after birth is worth talking to a doctor about.

Can a mother take medicine for depression while breastfeeding?

Some medicines used for depression are compatible with breastfeeding, and psychological therapy also helps. The choice is made carefully with the doctor, weighing the mother’s health and the baby’s. Postpartum depression responds to treatment, and it is not a failure of love.

When to see a psychiatrist

If you are a new mother and feel low, anxious or not yourself for more than two weeks, please talk to a doctor. If a mother is confused, seeing or hearing things, or speaks of harming herself or the baby, seek emergency care now.

Care here is personal: built around your history, your health and what you want to change, and reviewed with you as it goes.

If you or someone else is in immediate danger, call 999 or go to the nearest hospital emergency department.

Sources

• World Health Organization, Perinatal mental health
• Hoq et al., Heliyon, 2025
• VanderKruik et al., BMC Psychiatry, 2017