Adele speaks about her battle with postnatal depression

Singer reveals that she "had really bad postpartum depression" following the birth of her son four years ago.

Adele has spoken candidly about experiencing postnatal depression following the birth of her son.

Adele welcomed son Angelo a little over four years ago, around 18 months after releasing her landmark second album ’21’. In a new interview with Vanity Fair, the singer said she doesn’t think she will have a second child.

“I’m too scared. I had really bad postpartum depression after I had my son, and it frightened me,” she explained.

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Asked if she took antidepressants at the time, Adele replied: “No, no, no, no. But also, I didn’t talk to anyone about it. I was very reluctant…”

She continued: “My boyfriend said I should talk to other women who were pregnant, and I said, ‘Fuck that, I ain’t hanging around with a fuckin’ bunch of mothers.’ Then, without realising it, I was gravitating towards pregnant women and other women with children, because I found they’re a bit more patient.”

Adele added later in the interview: “One day I said to a friend, ‘I fuckin’ hate this,’ and she just burst into tears and said, ‘I fuckin’ hate this, too.’ And it was done. It lifted. My knowledge of postpartum — or postnatal, as we call it in England — is that you don’t want to be with your child; you’re worried you might hurt your child; you’re worried you weren’t doing a good job. But I was obsessed with my child. I felt very inadequate; I felt like I’d made the worst decision of my life… It can come in many different forms.”

Continuing, Adele explained that she continued to feel better after deciding to give herself “an afternoon a week, just to do whatever the fuck I want without my baby”.

“Four of my friends felt the same way I did, and everyone was too embarrassed to talk about it; they thought everyone would think they were a bad mom, and it’s not the case,” Adele said. “It makes you a better mom if you give yourself a better time.”

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According to the NHS, postnatal depression is a common problem which can affect over one in 10 women within a year of giving birth”. The NHS recommends that you speak to your GP as soon as possible if you think you may have postnatal depression. Further information and a list of symptoms is available on the NHS website.

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