Mums share past experience with postnatal depression to help peers

New podcast aims to guide those who lack understanding about the condition, which affects 1 in 10 mothers

- Christine Tan

Soon after giving birth to her first child, Ms Bernadette Loh threw things around the flat and told her husband: "The next thing I'm going to throw is the baby."

Instead of happily cuddling her daughter, the homemaker found herself constantly frustrated as she struggled with postnatal depression.

Her condition improved with medication and therapy, and she is one of two mothers sharing their stories on a new podcast that was launched by mental health charity Clarity Singapore at the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) on April 28.

The Birth Of A Mother podcast consists of four episodes that have been released progressively in May, in conjunction with Mother's Day on May 11. Three episodes are already available on Clarity Singapore's YouTube channel, and the final episode will be released at the end of the month.

The podcast features Ms Loh, 31, who is eight months pregnant with her second child; another mother who wants to be known only as Audrey; and Dr Gillian Lim, chief of central region at IMH and a mother of four.

Clarity Singapore is a Catholic mental health charity that specialises in maternal well-being.

Ms Janice Quek, a clinical psychologist there, started the podcast after she realised that mothers who sought therapy lacked understanding about postnatal depression, which affects about one in 10 mothers in Singapore.

Clarity Singapore saw such cases rise by about 15 per cent in 2024 compared with 2022.