IT should have been the best time of Eunice Williamson's life. With a healthy new baby in her arms and a loving husband by her side, nothing, surely, could spoil her happiness.
The 25-year-old new mum couldn't have loved her baby boy more. And as for the pregnancy weight gain, that, she hoped, would take care of itself.
But Kerr was just eight weeks old when Eunice realised things really weren't quite as good as she thought.
"I didn't want to go out of the house," she remembers. "I'd sit in with the blinds closed, I just watched television and comfort ate. I didn't go out, I had no self esteem and I felt uncomfortable.
"He was my first child and I was so occupied with being a mum that I didn't really see what was happening to me. I had been quite a bubbly person – suddenly I was crying all the time."
In fact, Eunice was suffering from postnatal depression, plunged into misery possibly by a pregnancy hormonal shift that left her feeling worthless and useless.
And to compensate for her feelings she sought one of the worst remedies she could have opted for – she dramatically overate.
"I'd go through 24 bags of crisps a night," she recalls, "It was my way of trying to make myself feel better but all it did was make me get bigger.
"Eventually my postnatal depression was picked up and I was given medication to help, but being overweight made me feel bad in other ways. I didn't feel good about myself, my self esteem was at rock bottom and now it was the weight that was making me depressed."
Now 38, Eunice is a dramatically changed person. The depression has lifted, and in its place is a stunning super-slim mum of two whose weight loss has been called inspirational.
She has been named Scottish Slimmers Inspirational Slimmer of the Year, in recognition of her incredible 6st 4lb weight loss in spite of three miserable bouts of postnatal depression, one which hit her after a life-threatening ectopic pregnancy.
Eunice, once a size 22-24 who lived in baggy tops and elasticated waistbands and refused to go out, is now a slinky size ten, tipping the scales at a healthy 10st 1lb – less than her pre-pregnancy weight.
As well as endless energy to run after and play with her children, Eunice also now has a renewed passion for clothes shopping.
"I look back now at pictures of myself at my worst and I barely recognise that person," says Eunice, a nursing assistant from Stoneybank in Musselburgh. "I actually bought a size ten catsuit back then and promised to myself that I'd wear it one day. Now it's too big for me."
Pregnancy morning sickness had prompted Eunice to overeat as she desperately tried to find foods which could make her feel better. By the time Kerr was born her usual weight of just over 11 stones had soared to over 15st, and it crept higher still when daughter Sophie arrived six years later.
Both births were accompanied by debilitating bouts of postnatal depression.
"I was around 15st 4lb after Kerr and then I went up to 17st 2lb after Sophie," recalls Eunice.
"I never went out, I'd make all sorts of excuses to avoid work nights out because I felt so unhappy with myself. I never looked in the mirror. I wouldn't even style my hair in front of a mirror so I didn't have to see myself."
Things came to a head when her husband David, 37, a joiner, asked her to accompany him to a rugby club dance. "I made up an excuse that I had a sore head and couldn't go," she cringes.
"I felt so bad when he came home later and said he'd won the player of the year award.
"Next day I got up and decided there and then to do something. I actually looked in the mirror properly for the first time in years.
"David had always been very supportive and he never ever mentioned my weight. All he ever did was once or twice roll his eyes at me as I reached for that 24th packet of crisps," she continues. "I feel sorry for him, I never wanted to go out anywhere and because of that he'd stay at home too.
"I realised after that club dance that I had to do something about it."
She pushed herself into a drastic diet and within a year had dropped to 13st 8lb. The strict weight loss regime, however, left her tired and unhappy.
"I was starving myself," she recalls. "So by the end of the day I had absolutely no energy and would collapse in bed, exhausted.
"When a friend got me along to a Scottish Slimmers' meeting, I suddenly found I could eat so much more and still lose the weight. It was fantastic."
She enjoyed the eating plans and the consistent weight loss, and was well on her way to her target weight of 11 stone when she suffered a major set back. And it was only the quick-thinking of little Sophie that saved her life.
"I was bending down to take something from the oven when I passed out," says Eunice. "Sophie got to the phone and called my parents right away – if she hadn't done that as quickly, it could have been much worse."
Eunice didn't even know she was pregnant at the time and news that she had suffered an ectopic pregnancy – where the fertilised egg implants in the fallopian tubes, in Eunice's case causing it to burst – was devastating.
The mum of two underwent life saving surgery only to emerge days later with the familiar postnatal depression symptoms.
"I was told by doctors before I had Sophie that the depression could return during other pregnancies, that it's a chemical imbalance. At least this time I was able to control my eating and carry on attending my Scottish Slimmers classes."
She hit her target weight last April, even dropping a few extra pounds in the process. The highlight, however, came last September when she learned she had been named Scottish Slimmers' most inspiring member.
To mark the occasion, she dug out of her wardrobe that size ten catsuit she had bought 18 months earlier while still a size 24. "I'd kept it for inspiration – even though it's not a good idea to do that because it can make losing weight seem too much of a challenge. It felt great to put it on.
"I remember they showed my 'before' pictures on a huge screen and even I couldn't believe the difference. It was like a different person up there and I couldn't stop the tears. Then when I went on stage, I looked down and saw David who was almost beside himself, he was so proud."
She adds: "I feel so happy now. I've got a lovely husband and I couldn't wish for two better kids, they're fantastic. I'm happier than I've ever been."
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For more information on your nearest Scottish Slimmers class, call 0800 36 26 36 for free or log on to www.scottishslimmers.com.One in ten new mums sufferingAT least one in ten new mums are affected by postnatal depression – different from the "baby blues" immediately after childbirth. This is a serious condition that can emerge any time during the first year after a pregnancy.
Common signs are feeling very low, tired and lethargic or a "numbness". Some mums feel unable to cope or that they don't love their baby enough. PND can also lead to mums being irritable and tearful.
There can be a loss of appetite or a shift towards comfort eating, perhaps panic attacks, obsessive fears over the baby's health or difficulty concentrating.
In very extreme cases, there may even be morbid thoughts of death.
PND is assessed, often by health visitors, using a questionnaire called the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. It can be treated with medication and support.
PND can be sparked by any of the emotional traumas surrounding childbirth. Pregnancy hormones can also affect emotions.
Some doctors believe that a lack of nutrients during pregnancy can lead to depression. These include omega 3 oils (found in oily fish, seeds and nuts), magnesium (leafy green vegetables and seeds) and zinc (seeds and nuts).
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For more information go to www.mind.org.uk.The full article contains 1428 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
