Flourishing Families and Katie Hoy Photography have joined forces to shed a more positive light on postnatal depression (PND) during Perinatal Mental Health Awareness Week, by capturing some beautiful moments between mothers and their children.
Postnatal Therapy Services manager Tina Berryman-Kamp runs numerous free support and therapy service from Flourishing Families with full funding from Lakes District Health Board.
"There are a lot of myths and stigma around PND, but PND is just one thing under a massive umbrella of Perinatal Mental Health conditions. They can range from increased anxiety, compulsive behaviours, feeling sad past the typical point of what's known as the Baby Blues period. Having Postnatal Depression doesn't necessarily mean you want to harm your baby, or you don't love your baby, and these stigmas are a reason people may not step forward for treatment," says Tina.
Rotorua photographer and mother of two Katie Hoy has been through Tina's service and is now offering her time and photographic expertise to help other mothers who are struggling.
"I read an article when I was in Tina's service about how we do so much for our children and we take so many photographs because having a child is such a special thing, but when many of us look back, we are not in those pictures. When I had Lucas I had PND and I really worried about bonding with him. But when I see some of the photos that were taken of us, I can see that the bond was there the whole time, no matter how I was feeling. And that makes me feel so much better. It makes the guilt go away," she says.
