Postpartum depression is real, though not often recognised

The change in routine and the demands of a newborn baby can get all too much for a new mother. Photo: The Star/Muhamad Shahril Rosli

Early this year, a 32-year-old mother in Kelantan slashed her two-month-old daughter to death.

The police found her beside the baby with a bloodstained knife and many were quick to condemn her as a heartless murderer. There were reports of her hallucinating and hearing voices, typical of many local stories of horrific crimes that were incomprehensible.