57/365 - Siobhán Weldon, St Anne’s Park, Dublin.

Dublin

26 Feb

I met Siobhán in St Anne’s Park, it was cold, but refreshing. She doesn’t remember what she wrote on her application form to be in this project, and she’s a bit surprised I chose to interview her. For me, it’s so important to include Siobhán as she describes herself as “ordinary” which is precisely who this project is designed for.

“I feel a need to truly be "seen". I would never normally put myself forward for something like this but I'm moving into a new decade and I think it's OK to ask to be considered. An ordinary woman, an ordinary life, but I'm still here. I still matter.”

I sat with Siobhán first not knowing what we’d talk about. I had asked her if there were any similarities between when she had a child at 21 and her next child at 37, then the topic quickly revealed itself as postpartum depression. Within 10 minutes of meeting we were deep into an incredibly sensitive conversation.

The emotions, thoughts, symptoms she described to me sound utterly horrendous and I felt embarrassed for not previously understanding the complexity of postnatal depression.

In a world where community nurses are extremely overstretched and the focus is primarily on the beautiful new baby, Siobhán thinks it’s important to check in with new mums. To ask them honestly and outright “Do you think you might be depressed?” when you think things are a bit off. You could save them so much pain and anguish and start them on their journey to getting help.