Mum had such extreme post-natal depression she suffered hallucinations and was sectioned for five months
A MUM-OF-ONE has told how she suffered such extreme post-natal depression that it's put her off ever having more children.
Kayleigh Delmonte, from Borehamwood, experienced terrifying hallucinations and heard voices after giving birth to son Freddie in July 2014, and ended up being sectioned for five-and-a-half months.
At first, the 28-year-old was on a natural high, having become a mum for the first time.
But the high got out of control and, although she wasn’t aware of it initially, Kayleigh soon became manic.
She explained: "I was completely hyper. I couldn't stop talking, I wouldn't go to bed and was on edge 24/7.
"I was also having hallucinations – thinking people were changing the times on all the clocks and hearing voices. I heard people arguing when they weren’t. It was really scary."
After that, the paranoia kicked in and Kayleigh started imagining that everyone was plotting to take Freddie away from her.
She even became convinced that her partner Colin, 44, was having a string of affairs.
Kayleigh said she loved Freddie "from the moment he was born", but the more she focused on Colin and her imagined infidelities, the more she began to neglect her son.
The mum admitted that Colin struggled to cope with her irrational behaviour.
"He’d never seen me like that before, and because he didn’t know I was suffering from a condition - no-one did at the time - he used to get angry with me and my wild accusations," she said.
"I also started to let myself go. I just didn’t care what I looked like. That was hard for him to handle too.”
Although Kayleigh was aware that she was behaving out of character, she put it down to her hormones.
It was only when friends and family started to point out that she wasn't herself that she realised it was time to get help.
She visited her GP, who prescribed sleeping pills, but they didn't help her other symptoms.
It was only when her mother-in-law, Hilary, spoke to a health visitor while she was visiting one day that they realised how serious the problem was - and called an ambulance.
Kayleigh was immediately admitted to Coombewood Mother and Baby unit and underwent a series of tests.
She was diagnosed with severe post-natal depression, and started on a course of counselling and medication.
Kayleigh recalled: "I was at the unit for five-and-a-half months in total.
"I didn't want to be there, but I knew it was the best place for me as I was impossible to live with and my moods had become impossible to deal with.”
While Kayleigh was in the unit, her weight spiralled from nine stone to 12, her depression got worse and at times she felt suicidal.
“I was lucky to get a place in the unit,” she admitted. “I tried to be grateful, but some days everything just got the better of me and I felt like the world would be a better place without me.
"The nurses at the unit took the precaution of removing anything from my room that I could harm myself with – including dressing gowns with tie belts.
"I didn’t think I was that bad, but they obviously thought so."
Fortunately for Kayleigh, Freddie was with her the whole time and she believes that really helped.
“At first, the nurses looked after him, but I gradually became able to look after him myself," she said.
Sadly, her relationship with Colin deteriorated further, especially after she accused him of fathering one of the babies at the unit.
“It was such an awful thing to say - not to mention totally ridiculous - but I was 100 per cent convinced that that was what had happened, and I wouldn’t stop going on about it," Kayleigh admitted.
A creeping condition that hits 1 in 10 mothers
Post natal depression is a type of depression that affects parents after they have a baby.
The major depression is triggered by childbirth but is much more severe than just the "baby blues".
It can also occur following a miscarriage or stillbirth of a baby.
Many women can feel emotional and anxious after the birth of their child, commonly referred to as the “baby blues”, this will only last for a few weeks after giving birth.
If these symptoms start to last longer the that you could be suffering with post natal depression.
The symptoms include but are not limited to: a persistent feeling of sadness, lack of enjoyment and loss of interest in the outside world, as well as your baby, and a lack of energy.
These signs can build up gradually so a lot of people don’t immediately identify that they have post natal depression.
Reportedly one in ten women suffer with the condition after giving birth.
A number of celebrity mums have opened up about suffering from post natal depression following giving birth.
Singer Adele has said that after the birth of her son Angelo she felt 'inadequate' and embarrassed to talk about how she was feeling.
John Legend’s wife and model Chrissy Teigen revealed she was diagnosed with postnatal depression in December after going into a downward spiral following the birth of her daughter Luna.
Gwyneth Paltrow explained she was dogged by post natal depression after son Moses was born in 2006.
Loose Woman Stacey Solomon said she suffred from depresson after the birth of her first son Zachary when she was just 18 years old.
Earlier this week, Ivanka Trump spoke out about her battle with post-natal depression - a move Kayleigh fully supported.
“I think it’s important that celebrities like Ivanka speak out," she said.
"A lot needs to be done to raise awareness as most people don’t realise just how destructive PND can be.
"Celebrities are seen as gods by so many people now and are really looked up to, so if more of them speak out on this subject, ordinary people will see that PND can happen to any woman and that it’s nothing to be ashamed of.”
Kayleigh was on antidepressants and other medication for over a year and her symptoms gradually faded.
She's been off the meds for two years now and her symptoms have subsided.
Unfortunately, she and Colin have now gone their separate ways.
Kayleigh explained: “There were many reasons we split up, but the PND was definitely the start of it.
"After he’d seen me in that state, nothing was ever the same. The love had gone, and, although we tried for another two years to make it work, it never came back.”
On top of the breakdown of her relationship, the experience has deterred Kayleigh from ever wanting another baby.
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"It was an awful experience and has totally put me off having more kids," she said.
"I always wanted two children, but I don't think I could go through that again. I just couldn’t risk it.
"It's common for women who suffer from PND to go through it with every pregnancy, and that's just not something I'm prepared to do. Once was bad enough."
In June we told how former Emmerdale actress Suzanne Shaw suffered from post-natal depression after the birth of her second child Rafferty, and admitted she was afraid to be left alone with her baby.
For more information about postpartum depression visit the , contact your GP, or for support and advice, call the on 0843 2898 401.