💛 Raising Awareness for Perinatal Mental Health — For Leo, and For Every Mum Struggling in Silence

During my pregnancy last year with my gorgeous angel baby, Leo, I went through something I never expected and had never even heard of: perinatal depression.

We often hear about postnatal depression, but almost no one talks about the months before birth—when many women quietly face some of the darkest moments of their lives.

For me, those moments were devastating.

My mental health declined quickly and severely. I felt myself slipping and tried reaching out to the people close to me, but I’m not sure they understood how serious it was—or maybe they just didn’t know how to help. I felt more and more isolated. More and more hopeless.

I attempted to take my life three times during my pregnancy.

It sounds impossible, even to me now—because I wanted my baby so desperately, and I loved him long before I ever held him. But that’s exactly why we need to talk about this.

Suicidal thoughts during pregnancy can happen. They are real. They are serious. And they are so desperately under-recognised.

Pregnancy doesn’t protect you from mental health struggles.

It doesn’t silence intrusive thoughts.

It doesn’t magically make you feel strong or joyful.

For many women, it creates a storm no one prepared them for.

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🌼 Why I’m Fundraising

I’m healthy now. I’m happy now. And my beautiful baby boy is thriving.

But it may not have ended that way.

I am raising money and awareness so that:

no pregnant woman feels ashamed to say “I’m not okay,”

no mother feels guilty for struggling,

and no one has to suffer in silence the way I did.

This fundraiser will support Maternal Mental Health Alliance a charity that provides crucial support for maternal mental health, including crisis help, counselling, and early intervention for women experiencing perinatal depression and suicidal thoughts.

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🌈 How You Can Help

Every donation—big or small—helps ensure that pregnant women and new mums can access support, compassion, and life-saving services.

If you can’t donate, simply sharing this page helps raise the awareness that could save someone’s life.

Let’s make perinatal mental health visible, spoken about, and taken seriously.

For Leo.

For me.

For every mum who feels she can’t say, “I don’t want to be here anymore,” even though she’s carrying a beautiful life inside her.

Thank you for helping me do my little bit to make a difference. 💛