Joy Onuorah

Nigerian entrepreneur, Aronke Feyi-Emmanuel, recently said that she once contemplated killing her baby while battling postnatal depression.

Aronke who is the founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of ChildAfrique Limited, an online marketplace for made-in-Africa children and maternity care products, spoke in a recent chat with media personality, Chude Jideonwo.

In her words;

“I had my baby abroad so I didn’t have the experience of a mum just forcing over you, putting hot water or something on your belly, bathing you and helping you generally. I did not have that.”

“There was no one to take care of me. I took care of everyone and everything but nobody cared for me. At least, not in the way that I should have been taken care of.”

“This was the beginning of this period in my life. I was joyful to have a baby but I found myself alone at night, every day. I was sleeping and waking up around my baby.”

“I don’t remember any night that my baby didn’t sleep beside me or have someone take the baby away from me so that I could rest. This was ongoing for the first four months — every night.”

“Then, when I’m alone with the baby at night, several thoughts would come up. Thoughts like, how did I get here?  I would then say to myself: maybe I should just carry the baby and hit him on the wall and let everything just end.”

“You, know, I just wanted my life back, I wanted my sanity and wellness back and it seemed I wouldn’t get it.”