‘Life changes can be quite daunting’: Olympian Libby Trickett reflects on her history with postnatal depression… eight weeks after giving birth to her third child
Libby Trickett welcomed her third child, daughter Bronte Rose, eight weeks ago.
And the retired Olympic swimmer reflected on her history with postnatal depression, in Saturday’s The Daily Telegraph.
The 34-year-old, who said the newborn is settling in well, admitted that life changes can be ‘quite daunting’.
Candid: Libby Trickett, 34, reflected on her history with postnatal depression in Saturday’s The Daily Telegraph. Pictured with her third child, eight-week-old daughter Bronte Rose
‘I think whenever you have such a change in your life, it can be always quite daunting,’ Libby told the publication.
‘Especially for me, knowing that I’ve had a history of postnatal depression, and it’s certainly something we are acutely aware of.’
The four-time Olympic gold medallist said that they’ve ‘been really lucky’ with the addition of daughter Bronte, and that she’s feeling ‘on top’ of things.
Appearing on Nine’s A Current Affair in September, Libby spoke about her battle with postnatal depression after the birth of her first child, daughter Poppy, now four.
Mother-of-three: ‘I think whenever you have such a change in your life, it can be always quite daunting,’ Libby told the publication. Pictured with Bronte and her eldest daughters Poppy, four, and Edwina, one
When Poppy was just four-months-old, Libby said the extreme sleep deprivation caused her mental health to spiral.
The lack of sleep caused her to become angry, and it got to the point where she would scream at her daughter.
‘It’s almost like I had a mental break, and I just had this moment where I completely lost it at Poppy, I was screaming at her,’ she said.
‘The progression of the extreme sleep deprivation that she put everyone through just spiralled my mental health and my mental illness to a point that I became scared of me.’
Adapting to motherhood: Libby shares her three children with husband Luke. The swimming champion has always been candid about her history with postnatal depression
Libby added that there was a moment that she ‘lost it’ at Poppy and screamed at the top of her lungs for 25 minutes.
‘I couldn’t imagine being an eight-month-old baby and being screamed at it,’ she said.
It was at that point that the swimming legend decided she needed to get help.
Libby has released a memoir, Beneath the Surface, that she hopes will help other women understand the symptoms and warning signs of postnatal depression.
Libby shares daughters Poppy, Edwina, one, and Bronte, with husband Luke Trickett.
Decline in mental health: Appearing on A Current Affair in September, Libby said the extreme sleep deprivation caused her mental health to spiral. Pictured with daughters Edwina and Bronte Rose
