What Is Postpartum Depression? Signs, Causes and When to Get Help
Postpartum depression, also called postnatal depression, is a common mental health condition after having a baby, and it does not mean you are failing as a mother. It can be hard to recognise from the inside, especially when everyone expects you to feel grateful and happy. This guide covers what it looks like, how it differs from the baby blues, what raises the risk, and what helps.
What postpartum depression is
Postpartum depression (PPD), also called postnatal depression, is a common mental health condition that can happen after having a baby. The NHS notes that it usually gets better with treatment. Globally, the World Health Organization estimates that about 13% of women who have just given birth experience a mental disorder, primarily depression.
Baby blues or postpartum depression?
Feeling down, anxious or tearful in the days after birth is very common. This is often called the baby blues, and the NHS says it usually goes away within about two weeks of the birth. If the feelings last longer, get worse, or make it hard to cope with daily life, it is worth getting support. You do not need to have every symptom, and you do not need to wait until things feel unbearable.
What it can look like
- Low mood, or finding it hard to enjoy anything
- Feeling hopeless, or that you cannot cope
- Guilt, a sense of worthlessness, or a feeling that you are a bad parent
- Anxiety, fear or constant worry
- Restlessness or irritability
- Difficulty sleeping, even when the baby sleeps
- Trouble concentrating or making decisions
- Difficult feelings about your baby, or difficulty bonding with them
- Thoughts of harming yourself or your baby (see "When it is urgent" below)
Symptoms can begin during pregnancy, soon after the birth, or at any point up to a year afterwards. It does not look the same for everyone: for some women it is mostly sadness, for others it is anxiety, irritability or a sense that nothing feels enjoyable.
What can raise the risk
Nobody knows exactly what causes it. The stress of caring for a newborn, lack of sleep and hormonal changes may all play a part. Factors that can raise the risk include depression or another mental health condition before or during pregnancy, recent difficult life events such as losing a job or a bereavement, a premature or unwell baby or having twins, not having enough social support, relationship problems, and experiencing domestic violence or abuse.
If you had your baby abroad, far from family and your first language, missing support is not a small detail. It is one of the recognised risk factors.
More than a list of symptoms
Some women describe something the symptom lists do not capture: a sense of having lost themselves. Becoming a mother changes your time, your body, your work and your relationships all at once. Part of what you feel may be grief for the life you had, mixed with love for the one you have now, and the two do not always sit comfortably together. That does not mean you regret your child. It means a major life transition has happened, and it deserves attention, not just endurance. My work draws on existential therapy and logotherapy, where transitions like this are treated as questions of meaning and identity as well as symptoms.
What helps
According to the NHS, postnatal depression usually gets better within three to six months, though it can last longer, and it is more likely to improve with treatment. Treatment commonly includes talking therapy, such as cognitive behavioural therapy, and sometimes antidepressants. The NHS notes that many antidepressants are safe while breastfeeding, so it is worth discussing with a doctor rather than ruling medication out yourself.
Practical support matters too: asking for help with shopping, chores and childcare, a short daily walk, as much rest as you can get, and talking to someone you trust.
What therapy can offer alongside medical care
I am a psychologist, not a medical doctor, so I do not prescribe medication. If you suspect postpartum depression, please speak to your GP, gynaecologist or midwife as well. Alongside that, therapy gives you a confidential space to say what is hard to say at home: the guilt, the anger, the flatness, the fear. We can work on what is happening now and on the larger question of who you are becoming. Sessions are available online and in person in Prague, in English, Russian or Czech, so you can speak in the language you think and feel in.
When it is urgent
If you have thoughts of harming yourself or your baby, feel confused, or see or hear things that others do not, treat it as an emergency. Call 112 (the EU emergency number) or your local emergency number, or go to the nearest emergency department. In the Czech Republic, the free crisis line for adults is 116 123. Having these thoughts does not make you a bad mother, and asking for help is the right response.
If you are a partner or a father
Fathers and partners can also develop depression after a baby arrives, and the same advice applies to you.
This article is general information. It is not a diagnosis and does not replace medical care. Facts were checked in October 2026 against the NHS and WHO pages below.
Sources: NHS, Postnatal depression · WHO, Perinatal mental health · Linka první psychické pomoci 116 123
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Write to me →More questions answered: postnatal depression FAQ · Prefer email? katia.tandon@gmail.com