By LACHLAN MOORHEAD
PAM Amsden knew it as the dark hole.
This was how her daughter Debbie referred to the postnatal depression that claimed Debbie’s life after the birth of her second child 15 years ago.
“I’d see her get up in the night and she would sit there, trying to fold a nappy and she’d say ‘Mum, I just can’t, all I’m seeing is this dark, dark hole and I just can’t get out of it’,” Pam, now a volunteer at the Berwick Opportunity Shop, said.
“They just can’t focus.
“I don’t know quite how to explain the black hole, I have never seen it.”
Debbie sought help from the Post and Antenatal Depression Association (PANDA) when she was afflicted with the illness following the births of her two children, Hamish and Erin.
Now her mum has dedicated much of her life to the organisation since Debbie’s passing.
This week Pam and staff from the Berwick Op Shop were visited by PANDA CEO Belinda Horton and awarded a trophy for raising $14,000 for the organisation in the past five years and $2500 in the last year alone.
“Their fundraising efforts help PANDA to continue to raise awareness and provide our vital support and counseling services to parents experiencing perinatal depression and anxiety,” Ms Horton said.
“Their efforts are making a real difference to the lives of struggling families.”
One in seven new mums and one in 20 new dads are diagnosed with postnatal depression in Australia each year.
Debbie started a PANDA support group after her first experience with postnatal depression and fully recovered, but was afflicted with the illness again following the birth of her daughter.
She died four days before Pam turned 60.
“She’d talk to lots of different groups about PANDA, we learnt a lot about them because they help these women that have this psychosis, they talk to them,” Pam said.
“You have to have special help and a lot of these mums don’t get it.
“Debbie came home (after her first child) and three and a half years later she badly wanted another baby so she had this dear little girl and she was in hospital a week, came home, and she said ‘I’m fine mum, I don’t need you here any longer’.”
After Debbie’s death and the passing of her husband Rod three years later, Pam moved to Berwick and quickly became involved with the op shop where she raised awareness in the community about PANDA’s purpose.
“Part of me definitely died when my husband passed years later, I knew I had to get a small house and there were two things I could do,” Pam said.
“I could crawl into a ball and do nothing or go out and find something to do.
“So I knew I’d be better doing volunteer work and raising money for PANDA.”
Anyone who is concerned about postnatal depression is urged to call PANDA’s free helpline on 1300 726 306, or visit www.panda.org.au.
