Woman reveals the side-effect of giving birth that nobody talks about

Nearly 20 per cent of women will experience the condition within a year of giving birth

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A mother from Florida has opened up about her struggles with postpartum anxiety on Facebook in a post that has gone viral.

Kristen Hewitt, who works as a part time TV reporter, uploaded a selfie illustrating the damaging effects of anxiety in a lengthy post.

“Today has been a rough day. I've been feeling well lately, taking care of myself, and been relatively calm,” she begins the post. “But today anxiety won.”

The mother of two explained how a traumatic birth, subsequent PTSD and perimenopause left her suffering from postpartum anxiety, a disorder she admits never having spoken about before.

“I was afraid others would think I was weak. I was afraid people would know I’m broken,” she wrote.

She described her anxiety as a “monstrous wave”, explaining how it has brought her to her knees in tears, had her hiding in her room and believing that she wasn’t good enough.

It even prevented her from going on holiday with her husband because she was afraid that the plane may crash.

Hewitt hopes that by sharing her experiences she will help spread awareness and encourage other mothers to confront their own ill mental health before it gets worse.

She has compiled nine natural ways to cope with anxiety on her eponymous blog, which include meditation, supplements, exercise and making lists to help structure the thoughts circling in anxious mother’s minds.

Though separate from its more severe counterpart, postpartum depression, postpartum anxiety can leave new mothers in a perpetual state of worry, concerned that they will do something to harm or even kill their child like leaving the oven on or leaving knives around the house.

In many cases, this can leave new mothers sleepless, unable to eat and reluctant to spend any time with their children, leading to further physical and emotional problems including regular panic attacks.

These issues are exacerbated for those suffering from postpartum depression – commonly referred to as postnatal depression – which has been well documented in the press due to a number of high profile celebrity mothers like Gwyneth Paltrow and Elle Macpherson coming forward about their experiences with the condition.