When I was approximately 26 weeks pregnant, my husband, became unwell and required major surgery and thus, a lot of stress for us all.

Ben struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and anxiety as a result of the surgery and illness. At this stage neither of us had ever faced nor known much about mental illness nor how to deal with it, so we tried to push through without getting help for some time.

As a result of this, when our son was born a few months later, I took on an enormous responsibility and cared for both my husband and my baby. Over time this clearly took its toll on me, and I developed severe postnatal depression and anxiety which resulted in me being hospitalised, at the local hospital and at a Mother and Baby Unit (MBU), twice.

Through much heartache and turbulence, we went through a series of unpleasant experiences and I was unable to connect with our son nor had the energy to look after myself. I was assured it would get better but naturally I found this hard to believe when in the midst of such a horrible illness.

I am so very thankful and relieved to say that with our son having just turned one, we are all doing well. Through the ongoing support of Gidget Foundation Australia and the many other amazing resources available, I am now well on my way to a full recovery.

The silver lining is – it’s made me stronger; more resilient and united us as a family more than ever. I feel that being able to get through perinatal depression and anxiety (PNDA), I can get through anything with my family’s support. More than anything, we’d really like people to know, and especially new mums and dads to know that it’s ok not to be ok so please ask for help, no matter how insignificant or trivial you may think it is.