Half of post natal depression sufferers suffer in silence

Sept. 1, 2010 - PRLog -- A new study by the UK’s leading discount and voucher code website has found that 1 in 5 women experience post natal depression after child birth, however, only 43% speak to other people about the problem.

The study by www.MyVoucherCodes.co.uk asked 1,172 mothers across the UK if they experienced a form of depression after giving birth to their children and if they received any medical help to aid them through their recovery.

Alarmingly the study found that the majority of the mothers asked, 57%, felt ‘depressed’ for a ‘small’ period of time after labour and a further 21% admit to having post natal depression.

Of the respondents that felt that they suffered with post natal depression, only 18% visited their GP for help and 29% searched for guidance on the internet.
When asked the multiple choice question ‘how did the depression make you feel about yourself?’ 38% cited that the depression made them feel like a ‘bad mother’ and a further 21% felt ‘incompetent’.

41% of the respondents cited that they felt ‘lonely’ after giving birth to their child and a further 29% admit that they felt ‘desperate for help’ during the first 3 months of their baby’s life.
When asked ‘did you feel supported by your Midwife in the first three months prior to giving birth?’ 9% answered no, 26% of which felt ‘patronised’ by their Midwife while 14% didn’t find their Midwife ‘helpful’.  

The study found that only 1% of the respondents suffered with depression for longer than 12 months and 91% of those that suffered a form of depression would recommend other mothers to seek medical help if symptoms of depression arise.

Andy Cole, parenting expert at MyVoucherCodes.co.uk has said the following about the findings;
“Post natal depression is a serious mental illness that mothers should seek professional help for. I can imagine that mothers may feel embarrassed or ashamed of feeling negatively when they have so much love for their new born, but it is an illness that cannot be prevented and affects many women - mothers shouldn’t feel ashamed.”

He continues,

“As a father myself I know the stresses that come with all the joys of a new baby. Of course both mother and father are happy with their new bundle, but the new pressures and responsibilities that come along can be over whelming. Sites such as MyVoucherCodes.co.uk offer great discounts on baby products and can hopefully ease at least one concern – that of the finances.”

LINK http://www.myvouchercodes.co.uk  

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For more information, please contact Charlotte Horsfall, 10 Yetis Public Relations Agency on 01452 348 211, charlotte@10yetis.co.uk

EDITORS NOTES
Mark Pearson, MD of MyVoucherCodes is a regular media contributor regarding online shopping and the credit crunch. At 29, his personal worth is more than £30 million. Mark was previously a trainee chef working for Gordon Ramsay at Claridges, London.

MyVoucherCodes has had sales exceeding £481m in the last year
Consumer savings on online shopping via MyVoucherCodes.co.uk up from £28m in 2008 to £52m in 2009.

MyVoucherCodes is the UK’s most popular discount site.