'I thought if I told someone, they'd take my daughter away' - the struggle of postnatal depression

Simone Riley was 32 when she had baby Baye, but it wasn't the dream she expected. During pregnancy Simone developed gestational diabetes, preeclampsia and found out she was a sickle cell carrier.

"I planned out everything of how my childbirth was going to go - the pool, the water birth, and it didn't go like that, it was traumatic all round. It was an emergency C Section and the focus as soon as my child was born was on the baby and my womb, it wasn't about how I was feeling mentally.

"I couldn't sleep and wasn't eating, I would go to work but felt upset on the way home, it was then I began to have bad suicidal thoughts which I'd never had before."

Simone first spoke about her battle on her local Manchester radio show, encouraging other mums to come forward.

'''You've got a new child, you've got everything going for you' - that's what I used to think - but when you have a child it doesn't come with a manual.

"You don't want to speak up, you don't want to tell anybody that you're not coping as a mother, but more mums need to speak out. You don't have to feel ashamed or embarrassed, people will applaud you for actually speaking out."

60 MPs from different parties have written to the Minister for Public Health and Primary Care, Steve Brine. They want new mothers to have a mental health check-up included in their six week appointment.

Simone is giving our #MumsinMind campaign her full support:

"Finally something's being done, it's something so simple, but it can change and save so many lives.

'It's something so simple, but it can change and save so many lives' - Simone

"To go through an emergency C Section, it's something that was quite drastic, and just by someone saying to you 'how are you feeling? As a mother how are you coping?' changes everything.

"The stigma is dropping. We can get more mothers to talk out, to feel that they're in a safe place where they can talk, and that their child isn't going to be taken away from them, because that's the reason that I didn't want to say anything. I thought, 'if I say how I'm feeling, they're going to take my daughter away from me' but getting help and support for the mother and the baby is what's important.

"If it's the GP that you're going to be speaking to that's even better because you've built up a long term relationship. I think if it's someone that knows you, and someone you can trust, it could be an amazing thing for new mothers.'

A Westminster Hall debate will take place on July 19th.