The 12th – 18th November is Perinatal Depression & Anxiety Awareness Week. This is becoming a dangerous and common illness and can affect the lives of new parents or people expecting a new baby.
There are different ways women deal with depression and anxiety, and the severity and impact of this illness varies from woman to another.
Ms. Afaf Alfawal, a young woman in her late twenties with one 3-year-old son, has a history of anxiety and experienced both ante and post anxiety and postnatal depression. Although her family was aware of anxiety and depression, her perinatal experience was a massive learning experience for all of them.
A new analysis of PANDA’s Helpline calls from 2016-17 reveals that more than 40% of callers would have slipped through the cracks without the Helpline, which assists families to recover from perinatal anxiety and depression and even saves lives.
PANDA says parents feel pressure because of their true parenting perceptions spread over social media, when the reality is very different.
