Irish influencer and writer Melanie Murphy has been attempting to break through the stigma of prenatal depression.
The mum-of-one is currently expecting her second child with her husband, Thomas O’Rourke. However, it has not been plain sailing for the 33-year-old. Melanie has been opening up on social media about the difficulties that she is experiencing with her second pregnancy.
This afternoon, she took to Instagram to express how she has been feeling for the past few months. “Prenatal depression is an absolute b**** of a thing,” Melanie admitted to her 118K followers.
The Glass Houses author went on to explain how the symptoms of prenatal depression came completely unexpectedly to her. “It’s not something I experienced during my first pregnancy at all … and I genuinely thought that because my first went relatively smoothly, that any and all pregnancies for me would be similar. LOL how naive and cocky I was!”
Although Melanie is excited to have a brand new little one, she revealed that this pregnancy has not been enjoyable for her. “Can not wait to NOT be pregnant anymore. Can’t believe I’ve to make it to Christmas,” she wrote.
“Really, really hope I don’t feel so low all year. We’re coming into my favourite time of year, too.”
In her post, Melanie also praised the people in her life that have been helping her through her ongoing struggles. “This little man is keeping me semi-sane,” she gushed, referring to the photo of herself and her two-year-old son that she posted alongside her caption. “I have to hold my shit together for him. I HAVE to. (But don’t worry, I’m venting plenty to adults and I’m doing everything I can to stir myself back to feeling like me again)”.
Melanie’s followers took to her comment section to express their sympathies and well-wishes.
“I usually meditate, write down my feelings and scream into a pillow!” wrote one follower. “Sending you positive vibes and I’m here if you need to chat”.
“I’m sorry you are going through this… and thank you for sharing and raising awareness,” commented another. “I’m sure it will help pregnant women going through the same to feel less alone or even guilty for feeling that way.”
Melanie gave birth to her first child in 2020. She announced her second pregnancy in June of this year, with the caption, “My Christmas gift arrived very early this year”. The influencer has been very clear to her audience that she will never share the names or appearances of her children on social media.
