Francesca Lunjevich / postnatal depression & anxiety, recovery, slow bonding, breastfeeding, strong marriage

Motherness

In this episode, I speak with a mum of one, Francesca Lunjevich about her Fourth Trimester with her son, Leo, and her journey with postnatal depression and anxiety.
We cover Fran's 'textbook' birth at Auckland hospital, how she didn't feel an instant bond with her son, and how that experience played out over the coming days and weeks as her anxiety began to take hold. Fran then details when she realised that her mental health and emotions were more than the standard postpartum baby blues, taking us through her diagnosis and recovery from postnatal depression and anxiety. We speak about the importance of sleep, her breastfeeding struggles but how she grew to love it, how her husband Ben coped with being a new dad, as well as how their relationship fared during her mental health struggles. Her advice for anyone struggling is to please reach out for help and know that you aren't alone.
I’m so grateful to Fran for her unwavering strength and bravery in sharing her story. So, thank you Fran for having this incredibly important and helpful conversation with me.

Conversations like this are how we eliminate the stigma of maternal mental health, so I encourage each of you listening to please reach out to a mum or mum-to-be that you know - whether you think she’s struggling or not - just to check in and see how she is.

Just a warning before we begin: today’s episode mentions depression, anxiety, and suicide so if any of these things are triggering for you, please take care while you’re listening. If you’re worried about your own mental health or that of someone you love, visit mentalhealth.org.nz or call 0800 LIFELIFE to seek support. It’s never too late to ask for help.
Follow Fran Lunjevich on Instagram.
Follow Skye Ross on Instagram.

Follow Motherness on Instagram.