Ballet dancer Dana Stephensen has detailed her heartbreaking battle with postpartum depression after welcoming twin daughters, Lulu and Lottie, with The Wiggles star Lachy Gillespie last year.
On Wednesday, the 36-year-old ballerina recalled how she struggled to speak or play with her son Jasper, six, while suffering from her depression.
Dana shared an Instagram post by Centre Of Perinatal Excellence, which featured a picture of a woman comforting her friend as she breastfed her newborn, and wrote: ‘This sort of kindness at such a critical time for new mums is beyond priceless.
Ballet dancer Dana Stephensen has detailed her heartbreaking battle with postpartum depression after welcoming twin daughters, Lulu and Lottie, with The Wiggles star Lachy Gillespie last year
‘I still remember vividly in between lockdowns the people who were able to visit and give me a hug, play with Jasper (her son) when I couldn’t, or speak quickly on the phone even while I struggled to make a sentence,’ she continued.
‘The presence of others when you’re navigating the rawness and newness of parenthood is the most memorable present of all.’
Last month, Dana revealed her battle with ‘severe postnatal depression and anxiety’ after welcoming daughters Lulu and Lottie last year.
Dana shared an Instagram post by Centre Of Perinatal Excellence, which featured a picture of a woman comforting her friend as she breastfed her newborn, and wrote: ‘This sort of kindness at such a critical time for new mums is beyond priceless’
‘The reality is for much of this first year, I was not able to cope with managing the girls alone,’ she wrote in a lengthy post.
‘People close to me will say I coped extremely well under unprecedented circumstances, but my internal experience felt like one of failure.
‘The unique challenges of twins were so overwhelming, the sleep deprivation so intense, the physical and emotional toll of tandem breastfeeding was beyond exhausting.’
Last month, Dana went on to speak about ‘the guilt and shame that comes with feeling these truly awful feelings when it “should” be the happiest time of your life’
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She added: ‘Very early on I was diagnosed with severe postnatal depression and anxiety.’
Dana went on to speak about ‘the guilt and shame that comes with feeling these truly awful feelings when it “should” be the happiest time of your life’.
She thanked Lachy, 36, for capturing her with their one-year-old daughters in photos so that she could be reminded of the ‘happier moments’.
Candid: She thanked Lachy, 36, for capturing her with their one-year-old daughters in photos so that she could be reminded of the ‘happier moments’
‘I look back and remember happier moments amongst the struggles,’ she wrote.
In addition to Lulu and Lottie, Dana is also mum to her son Jasper from a previous relationship.
Dana added that her mum, Glenva, ‘flew into multiple lockdowns to help us and truly saved me’, describing her as ‘a second mum’ to her kids.
Keeping mum: Dana added that her mum, Glenva (pictured), ‘flew into multiple lockdowns to help us and truly saved me’, describing her as ‘a second mum’ to her kids
‘The constant choosing between twins as a mother is so counterintuitive it breaks your heart every single time, it still does,’ she wrote.
‘But tonight at bedtime when all they want is Mummy and it’s only me, I could actually trust that I could handle it.
‘There are still more tears than I would like, my heart still races. My nerves on edge. But I manage.’
Family: In addition to Lulu and Lottie, Dana is also mum to a six-year-old son, Jasper, from a previous relationship
Source: Daily Mail
