Kristy had long coped with anxiety and depression by staying busy, but after infertility, birth trauma, and a decline in postpartum mental health, those familiar coping strategies no longer worked. As she struggled with the stillness of motherhood, an unexpected ADHD diagnosis reframed everything she thought she knew about herself.

Chloe’s story moves through a series of places that marked the height of her anxiety and melancholic depression — from hospital wards after a retained placenta to the streets where she pushed her pram while fighting suicidal ideation. From emergency departments to a mother-and-baby unit admission, she navigated severe symptoms and the challenge of accepting help.

When Ariane became a mother, she was confronted by delusions, hallucinations, and severe depression, shaped by a lifelong pull towards perfectionism and control. As a former caseworker and psychologist, her identity both masked and magnified her struggles, delaying her ability to seek help.

OCD had been part of Emma’s life for many years, though it went unrecognised until early motherhood, following pregnancy loss and the birth of a premature baby during lockdown. What followed was an OCD crisis marked by depression, shame, and the challenges of accessing support. Emma reflects on the process of understanding her diagnosis and the role of acceptance, writing, and community in her recovery.

After a positive first postpartum experience, Jess never expected her next pregnancy to be any different — until she discovered she was carrying twins. As intrusive thoughts and compulsions intensified, her mental health rapidly declined, and the demands of caring for multiples compounded the feeling that she wasn’t enough. Despite support from acute mental health services, her symptoms escalated into hallucinations and psychosis.

In this personal episode, Rebecca shares her experience of a second pregnancy — one she had hoped would feel different. As she reflects on the similarities and differences from her first, she speaks openly about the conflicting emotions of pregnancy, including hope, fear, and uncertainty, and the support systems she is putting in place as she approaches birth, given her history of tokophobia, PTSD, and OCD.

With a background in child development psychology, Siobhan expected to feel prepared for motherhood. Instead, a traumatic birth and intense sleep deprivation during lockdown led to a postpartum experience marked by anxiety, depression, and, at its most severe, hallucinations and suicidal ideation. Siobhan reflects on the impact on her sense of self and the supports that helped her move towards recovery.

During postpartum, Sarah experienced anxiety, OCD, and depression that gradually eroded her sense of self. As her symptoms intensified, she was forced to confront her assumptions about mental health and recovery. Part one follows her journey towards seeking support, including medication and her first admission to a mother-and-baby unit.

At 18 weeks pregnant, Aimee’s waters ruptured — but against all odds, her pregnancy continued and she gave birth to a healthy baby girl. Despite the outcome she had hoped for, she felt as though she was living the worst-case scenario she had feared. Aimee hid her suffering for weeks, until her husband found her in a heap on the floor.

After a joyful first postpartum experience, Tegan was unprepared for how quickly her mental health unravelled the second time. As her OCD intensified and her symptoms were repeatedly dismissed, she struggled to access the care she needed, until finally she was admitted to a mother-and-baby unit — all thanks to the help of an unlikely stranger.

Rebecca had spent most of her life imagining motherhood — but not the mental breakdown that led to a psychiatric admission just days after her son’s birth. In part two, she reflects on a postpartum experience, shaped by OCD and PTSD, that unfolded in ways she never could have imagined.

With a long history of anxiety, Rebecca did everything she could to prepare for and protect her mental health in postpartum. But in focusing so heavily on what came after birth, she didn’t recognise the anxiety escalating throughout her pregnancy.