Postnatal depression affects 1 in 7 women but that experience has been made worse for many young parents with COVID-19 taking a toll on new parents living in isolation and without support.

Kat Deluca was fraught with anxiety when she had her son. Such was the severity of her stress she was hospitalised for six weeks at the Brisbane Centre for Postnatal Disorders, which only has ten beds.

Kat was fortunate to receive the help she needed and her experience inspired her to connect with and reach out through social media to other women who were going through a similar struggle.

Lost & Alone

“Postnatal depression (PND) affects thousands upon thousands of women who in those dark and often terrifying times feel so lost and alone while experiencing motherhood, sometimes for the first time,” Kat said.

“I wanted to speak to other women who understood, and who might need someone to understand them and what they were going through.”

Connect

Kat used Facebook as a way to connect with other mums going through PND, and was inspired to start a clothing label to support causes like PANDA who support women experiencing postnatal depression.

$1 from every item sold goes to PANDA, which Kat hopes will help the organisation grow and increase its hotline hours which are presently only 9am to 7.30pm, Monday to Friday.

“PND doesn’t simply operate during business hours, which is why I hope my contribution can help make help more readily available more often,” Kat said.

Empower

Kat’s clothing is designed to empower women and their families through positive messaging such as ‘Be Kind’, ‘Grateful’ and ‘Strong Mama.’

“Deluca Apparel is a movement for women to support each other during what is likely to be the most difficult experience of their lives,” Kat said.

Be Kind

“Positive thoughts aren’t easy to muster when you’re in a dark place. Even if it doesn’t feel like it, I want mums going through PND to feel like ‘Strong Mamas’ and to remind the world around them to ‘Be Kind’.

“Postnatal depression takes a village to battle. Deluca Apparel is here for every woman and family who experiences PND and supports them through their journeys, and hopefully our work can see more families supported (by PANDA) more often.”

Have you (or know someone) who has experienced postnatal depression? Tell us in the comments below.