You may find that you need extra help and support after the birth of your baby. It helps if you know what to expect - and where to find the information you need.

Postnatal depression (PND) is quite common. It affects around 15% of new mothers, but many more feel tired, low, occasionally distressed, isolated and lonely. It usually starts about three weeks or so after the birth but can become evident many months after you have had your baby. There is no fixed timeframe or formula for how you are supposed to feel.

Isolation does seem to be part of postnatal depression. It can be hard to get out and about and to stay in touch with friends when you have a new baby. Or when you do get out, everyone seems to be coping better than you are - and you feel even worse than before.

It could be that guilt and disappointment are part of depression. Maybe you feel bad because you don't think you love your baby as much as you feel you should. Or you thought being a mum would be wonderful - and it just isn't. There are many reasons that a mum can feel like she is not coping with her role as mother.

Some experts think the cause might be connected with your changing hormones, among other things that can affect your ability to cope. These are some of the feelings you might have if you have postnatal depression:

You wake up feeling exhausted, every day, even after a long sleep.
You can't sleep, no matter how tired and exhausted you are.
You find it hard to concentrate on something, or organise yourself, or other simple tasks.
Small things take on huge importance and you may find it hard to put them into perspective.
You feel you're a failure as a mum.
You can't feel much, as if experiences are happening to someone else.
You find yourself feeling tearful, and sometimes weeping, and you aren't sure why.
You lose track of time, and find hours go by and you can't be sure what you've been doing.

You need help if you have any of these symptoms occur often enough to worry you. Everyone feels tired, sad and a bit weepy from time to time - but if this is the usual thing for you, then you may have postnatal depression.

Who to ask for help:

Your baby health centre is trained to offer support to women with postnatal depression, and to advise when further help from your doctor or elsewhere would be useful. They may be able to put you in touch with other mums or other support services in your local community.

Your doctor may prescribe anti-depressants, or refer you to other forms of help. Some medications can have an affect on your baby if you are breastfeeding so it's important to consider this when organising your treatment. Friends, your partner and family can also help and support you. You don't need to hide how bad you feel - you deserve a lot of support at this time. A counselor or psychotherapist (via your doctor) can also help. 'Talking therapy' is regarded as the most effective in the treatment of PND. There are now Medicare rebates available for some psychological treatments.

The important point is that PND is curable and manageable - with the right help.

Your baby needs you to feel okay too, so it is worth asking for the help that you need.

Don't confuse postnatal depression with the 'baby blues' some women have after the birth for no more than a few days.

About one new mum in every 500 has an especially severe form of postnatal mental illness called puerperal psychosis. This means she may have hallucinations, or stay awake for days, or be extremely 'high' and energetic. It's always obvious to the people around the mum that something's not right. This form of illness is not postnatal depression, and it needs immediate medical help. Some women need to be in hospital for the right sort of help.

We also have a Post Natal Support discussion within the Huggies Forum it's a great place to talk to other mums.