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A card for the wall

Print this and put it where a mother will see it without having to ask — a ward noticeboard, a health visitor's folder, a fridge door, the back of a toilet door. It prints in black and white on one page, and it is designed to survive being photocopied.

You do not need our permission and there is nothing to attribute. Please copy it as many times as you like.

Print the numbers for

If you have had a baby and you are struggling

You are not the only one, and this is treatable.

Postpartum depression affects about 1 in 7 mothers. It is a medical complication of childbirth — not a character flaw, and not a verdict on how much you love your baby.

Free, confidential, and awake right now

  • Call 911

    Emergency services

    24 hours a day, every day

  • Call or text 988

    988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline

    24 hours a day, every day · call or text

  • Call or text 1-833-TLC-MAMA

    National Maternal Mental Health Hotline

    24 hours a day, every day · call or text

Two things worth knowing before you call

  • Calling will not cost you your baby. Seeking help for a mental health condition is not grounds for anyone removing a child.
  • You do not have to be sure it is bad enough. These lines exist for exactly the uncertain, “this is probably nothing but” calls.

You can say only this

“I had a baby recently and I'm having thoughts that scare me.”

That is enough to start. They have heard it before and they will not be shocked.

Call today, not next week, if

You are having thoughts of harming yourself or your baby · you cannot eat, drink or get out of bed · you feel completely disconnected from your baby or yourself · you are seeing or hearing things others are not, or you have not slept at all for days while feeling wired. That last one can be postpartum psychosis — rare, treatable, and an emergency. Get help the same day.

Go in today for any of these, up to a year after birth

A headache that will not go away · changes in your vision · dizziness or fainting · a fever of 100.4°F / 38°C or more · extreme swelling of hands or face · trouble breathing · chest pain or a racing heart · severe belly pain · soaking a pad in an hour · pain, redness or swelling in a leg · overwhelming, sudden tiredness · thoughts of harming yourself or your baby.

Say when you gave birth, say what is happening, and say “I'm worried”. Staff do not always ask, and it changes what they look for.