these sorts of transcendental practices, it is the witness, the higher self, who sifts through the incredible memory of having given birth, and who helps us to assimilate those wonderful experiences into the everyday self.
   The range of psychological reactions each woman will experience following childbirth can vary enormously, depending on factors such as her expectations, any delivery difficulties, interventions, her behaviour, the health of her baby, her relationship with the father, her innate responses to the baby, the home environment to which she returns, and the post-natal support she receives domestically and socially. Any tendencies towards anxiety, depression or neurosis, whilst common and understandable, need to be communicated to either an understanding midwife, motherhood mentor or mental health professional sooner rather than later. Which brings us to the topic of a very common and disturbing syndrome.

	~ Post-Natal Depression ~

The Medical Perspective
   In days gone by, the difficulties some women experienced in the post-natal period were variously described as "just the usual adjustments to becoming a new mother"; "just caused by a shortage of sleep"; or "just the effects of the hormones which affect some women worse than others". Any kind of mental "abnormality" was politely referred to as The Baby Blues, and not seen worthy of serious attention.
   But in recent times, such difficulties have been investigated much more deeply by the psychiatric and physiologic professions, and the range of post-natal mental health experiences are now recognised as diagnosable illnesses, and are grouped according to the following 3 categories.
   The most common and least serious group of post-natal symptoms is (still) called Baby Blues, and includes disturbances such as general mood swings, overwhelming feelings, occasions of spontaneous teariness. It has been noticed that these sorts of things occur in up to 80% of women worldwide following birth, lasts 3 - 10 days and is closely linked to the hormonal changes that occur after birth and as milk production begins.
   The most serious and least prevalent cate-gory, is classified as Post-Natal Psychosis manifests as serious psychiatric disturbances. It affects only 2 in every 1000 new mothers. A women suffering psychosis at this time will have no awareness that she is behaving 

strangely. She may be confused about who she is, what her role as a mother is (even unaware that she has a baby), hallucinating, suicidal, or may be driven to harming the baby.
   Somewhere in between these two groups exists the diagnosis of Post-Natal Depression, which manifests as general emotional instability; poor sleeping even when the opportunity exists; chronic fatigue; degrees of anxiety about the baby leading to compulsive habits of checking and fussing; low self esteem; disorganisation and inability to complete tasks; fear of social contact; loss of memory; reduced ability to concentrate; feelings of guilt; suicidal thoughts, thoughts of killing the baby. These symptoms commonly begin about 3 months after birth, rather than in the first week like Baby Blues, although the basic blues may often develop into more serious PND. Between 10 and 25% of new mothers are said to suffer PND in varying degrees.
   Although there is a growing public awareness and medical acceptance of these post-natal conditions, many women and their families still continue to suffer these states in silence, due to reasons of embarrassment and the old belief that they will just go away "as the woman's body returns to normal". Those who do seek assistance are generally offered a range of anti-depressants and / or counselling therapies.
   Statistically, it appears that PND has increased greatly in recent years(49). This may have to do with a more definitive diagnosis of the condition as well as more frequent reporting of it, now that women feel more able to talk about it and have their experiences medically validated. But I believe there are many other equally valid possibilities for this increase - topics which I will delve into a little later.
   Research has previously suggested that the women at greatest risk of suffering PND are those who previously suffered Pre-Menstrual Syndrome(50). This was explained by the fact that during pregnancy the levels of oestrogen and progesterone remain much higher than normal, and that straight after the birth they drop markedly. Following that, their levels may remain low for many months until full fertility and full menstruation returns. This sudden drop, and the subsequent abnormal levels can create responses similar to PMS. However, the most recent studies have measured hormone levels in both depressed and non-depressed women (with and without children), and have found little difference in hormone levels. This therefore indicates that it is not hormonal levels per se that are a definite cause of PND or PMS, but more likely each woman's