MASERU – In 2019, Lerato was raped and got pregnant as a result. She was in Grade 12 and her pregnancy forced her to drop out of school.
“I didn’t even report what happened because (the man) threatened to kill me or my loved ones as he knew them. I kept quiet to protect my family, yet the same family disowned me the moment they learnt about my pregnancy.”
She described her pregnancy as a “bumpy journey with a lot of tears.”
“I thought things would get better with time but it was not to be. I had sleepless nights after giving birth, and all I could think of was how we were going to survive without the support of my family also remembering how I conceived.”
She said health personnel at the local clinic confirmed to her that she was suffering from Post-Partum Depression (PPD) and they promised to link her up with someone to talk to.
“Unfortunately, it never happened. And my child suffered in the process as I would beat him often without any reason hoping I would get better but it didn’t help.”
“My son is afraid of me now but with the help of my pastors, I believe we will be fine.”
She says bottling things up worsened her situation “but I am working on it.”
“I believe that maybe things would have been better had my family supported me even if it was after giving birth.”
She added that “every day I pray for intervention. My parents even died before we could mend things and my siblings are like strangers. We even walk past each other without any greetings. It’s sad but there is still hope that I will move past this,” she said.
Unlike Lerato, Tšepiso –after having a baby out of wedlock – noticed her problem early when her daughter was just two weeks old.
She said her pregnancy wasn’t “that smooth” as she too was disowned by her father and her mother “didn’t understand” her situation.
She said she neither wanted to bath nor breastfeed her baby after giving birth.
“I hated her as I felt she had put my life on hold…often I had an unwavering urge to kill her by suffocation but all those desires were stopped by my conscience.”
She said this went on for two months until she felt sick.
“Going to a doctor is what helped me,” she said, highlighting that it took her seven months to recover.
A clinical Psychologist of Cypress Psychological Services, Bosao Monyamane-Moyo, describes PPD as a type of the specifiers of mood disorders that occurs after giving birth at least a day to three days after delivery.
She says PPD is common in the country, although she doesn’t have the exact statistics.
She said the condition can manifest in the form of major depression or manic episode.
She said symptoms of major depression include being sad, tearful, having low energy levels, memory loss and loss of interests in things one loved for a period of at least two weeks or beyond.
She also talked about “postpartum blues” which symptoms are minor and can be experienced by a mother after delivery and her spouse too.
The symptoms for postpartum blues are milder and last for two weeks after delivery.
However, PPD symptoms “are much severe and can present with psychosis (in rare cases which mothers end up killing their children) and these symptoms can last for a month or more.”
“To identify it at an early stage is very important,” said Monyamane-Moyo.
She said sometimes the mother “doesn’t realise what is happening” hence the need for support from those around her who may notice the behavioural changes.
“Behavioural change can be monitored after giving birth. These behavioural changes would require intervention of a psychologist because they have depth training in dealing with mood disorders and will be able to recommend proper treatment.”
Like any other psychiatric illness, she says “it is important to seek help once a person experiences the above mentioned condition.”
She said research shows that at least 50 percent of women who experience PPD with their first child are likely to experience it again.
“That is why it is important to identify it at an early stage and provide professional help.”
’Mapule Motsopa