On Friday, October 2, a woman made a revelation on her distant relationship with her son which sparked reactions from Kenyans online.
Wanja Kavengi, took to her social media where she narrated how she was never able to establish a connection with her eight-year-old son.
In a post that garnered over 3,000 comments and nearly 900 shares, Kavengi confessed that she shouted at her son as she created an emotional distance never offering him compassion or warmth.
"I was depressed throughout his pregnancy; I didn't want him. I was depressed after his birth; I didn't want him. I was depressed while raising him; I didn't want him. He felt like a bother, like a burden, like an unwanted guest in my house, a painful thorn under my sole," she stated.
She narrated that she still harbors the feeling of resentment 8 years after giving birth.
"I ignored him from the day he was born. I have been unkind to him, I don't love my son and I am tired of hurting him," she stated.
A medical practitioner Edwin Gitu explained to Kenyans.co.ke stated that postpartum depression was as a result of physical, emotional, and behavioral changes that happen in some women after giving birth.
"Hormonal imbalance after birth may make the new mother experience flashes of anger, depression and might even result in extremely violent crimes and assault," he stated.
The doctor explained that the condition may last from when the woman gives birth to up to six months, with some women experience health complications such as high blood pressure.
On the possibility of the condition lasting up to eight years, he explained that it was possible that an element of pyschosis could have been aggrevated by the preganancy.
"It would be important to get the patient's history and the family as well, if there have been issues of mental instability," he stated.
The medical professional further opined that it was not healthy for a child to be raised in an abusive environment as they could get scarred in their formative years.
A number of Kenyans commented on Kavengi's post with many urging her to seek help.
"You have just accomplished your first step towards healing. Seek help, you need counseling, it may help you deal with your wounds because you are most certainly hurting. It's only upon that healing that you can manage to connect with your son," one Inya noted.
"It’s unfortunate that people think she is doing this out of her own will,I mean the not bonding with the son but if you haven’t been through the post birth depression don’t throw stones. She first needs help through counseling to understand herself before she accepts her son," Gathecha Everylne stated.
