An 18-year-old woman died a month after the birth of her baby. This Irish mom suffered from postpartum depression.
Postpartum depression affects 10-20% of young mothers every year. A disorder that reminds us of the importance of following and helping new mothers. At 18, Shaciara McDowell, a young mother from County Antrim, Northern Ireland, committed suicide a month after the birth of her second child, a baby boy named Càhir.
After the tragedy that unfolded on September 7, Vanessa, her 27-year-old sister, testified at BelfastLive. Distraught, she explains that her sister's severe postpartum depression was not being taken care of. Through her message, she hopes to raise awareness so that this disorder is better diagnosed and managed so that there are no more taboos around this disease.
A second depression in two years
After giving birth to her first child, Eire, a 1-year-old girl, Shaciara McDowell previously suffered from postpartum depression. With medical assistance, the young woman managed to get her head out of the water. Unfortunately, after Càhir's birth, she relapsed. “Her postpartum depression started about three weeks after giving birth, so it was really quick. She also suffered from postpartum depression with her first child, and it also happened very quickly, and I think that what is most problematic is that the system knew she suffered from it the first time around and they should have been around a lot the second time around. They should have put something in place for her before she even gave birth. ", says Vanessa McDowell.
In her testimony, Vanessa says that her sister Shaciara used to “Wear a mask”. "[She] was a bit like everyone from time to time I guess, she didn't want to bother other people with her issues and even though she did bring it up, she would say, 'it's okay, I'm fine.' . She didn't want to talk about it but it was something that was going on in her head ", Vanessa says. Very close to her sister, she describes her sister as a woman “Brilliant” with his children with a personality "unbelievable". "It's terrible, this situation is just absolutely terrible. [Cáhir] will never forget it, she will always live through us and he will know all about her, they will both know it, and they will know how much she will know them. loved. […] She was my sister, and she was everything to us ", she says.
A testimony to free the voice of women
Today, Vanessa McDowell wants to lift the taboo around postpartum depression so that women have better care and, above all, on time. According to her, the doctors did not prescribe the anti-depressants on time. "It's terrible that women don't have the support they need, there are so many women with postpartum depression who don't get help and feel ashamed, and like my mom does. said, there is this picture of the perfect mother, except that reality is not like that, "she explains. "Don't think of the cliché that drugs make you weak, if you have cancer you would get treated, the brain is just as important, take care of it."
As a reminder, if you experience psychological difficulties after the birth of your child, you can contact the Baby Parents service at 0.800.00.34.56.