Campaigners say a dire shortage of midwives is putting mothers and babies at risk - with post-natal support “almost non-existent”.

The Royal College of Psychiatrists advises: “There may be an obvious reason for PND, but often there is none. It can be particularly distressing when you have looked forward to having your baby through the months of pregnancy. You may feel guilty for feeling like this, or even feel that you can’t cope with being a mother.”

Deborah Morgan-Graham, head of post-natal support charity Perinatal Illness UK, said: “Forty women each year die as a result of it during the first year after they have given birth.

“Nobody really knows what causes women to feel like this, but it is thought that it is a mixture of hormonal factors, psychological factors and social factors.

“In most cases the deaths are very violent. The women have very negative thoughts about themselves and feel like they are terrible mothers.”

Ms Morgan-Graham added: “The first port of call for a woman struggling with post-natal depression should be a GP because it is curable.

“But a lot of women feel too frightened to go to a GP and instead they suffer in silence - this is why it is known as the ’silent epidemic’.”

One explanation for an increase in PND is that women receive less support than they did in the past. New mothers used to have ten days in hospital to recover, but now they are discharged between eight and 48 hours after giving birth. Read more