Post-natal depression: I was alone with my baby and afraid all the time

When Niamh O'Reilly gave birth to her first child, she immediately knew what she felt was wrong. She later came to understand  she was experiencing perinatal depression 

Niamh O'Reilly, who had post-natal depression after the birth of her first child. Photograph Moya Nolan

Post-natal depression is an indiscriminate thief committing crimes against mothers when they are at their most vulnerable. 

When it robbed me of those first few weeks and months of what should have been a happy time with my newborn baby in early 2017, it didn’t care that it nearly drove me over the edge. No, this ugly feeling kept going, until I hit the bottom.