How Postnatal Depression Changed my Life for the Better with Orla Kerley | Anxiety After Giving Birth

The Irish Mummy Podcast | Work Life Balance

We really wanted to get Orla on the podcast to share her amazing story about what she experienced after having her boy in June 2014. Shortly after giving birth, she realized things were a bit off and started fearing she was losing strength. She felt unwell, but after seeing the doctor, she was told that physically everything was fine. She knew she wasn’t well, and after talking to her husband, she realized that she wasn’t happy or that she couldn’t even feel any emotions at all. She later learned that she had a traumatic, abnormal birth, which was the cause of all her anxiety and suffering after labor. She was certain she would want to go right back to work after having her child, but soon realized that wasn’t true and would have way too much anxiety, preventing her from returning. Becoming a mother has changed her perspective on a lot of things, which led her to start her own business from home.
About her son’s birth and the beginning of motherhood 1:34
Starting to feel unwell 10:20
What made her feel so much anxiety 17:10
Abnormal behavior 24:42
Going back to work, feeling happy again 25:48
Having her own business 31:33
Follow Orla 37:24
“He said, ‘Have you heard of Postnatal depression?’ and I was like, ‘Yeah, but that’s not me.’ and he said, ‘Why do you think it’s not you?’ and I said, ‘I’m not depressed.’ He said, ‘Well, can I ask you a question?’ I said, ‘Yeah.’ and he said, ‘Are you happy?’ and I said, ‘No.’ And I just started crying. He was like, ‘What’s wrong?’ and I was like, ‘No one has asked me that in all these months and it’s only now that I realize that I’m not happy.” 14:14
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