In late July this year, 31-year-old Nima Bhakta committed suicide seven months after giving birth to her healthy son, Keshav.

The news understandably shocked her friends and family living in California.

Last week her childhood friend Sneha Mathur wrote an article imploring others to take post-partum (childbirth) depression seriously, especially Asians.

“It was something you guys wouldn’t understand because the Indian society does not fully understand postpartum depression,” Nima wrote in a letter to her family.

She wrote that she hadn't been able to find the words to explain the depth of her suffering to others. She said she had a loving and supportive husband and that no one was at fault for her pain.

According to her friend Sneha it started after she gave birth.

"She felt completely changed as an individual, wife, sister, daughter and aunt, and she didn't understand how she couldn't even attempt cooking or other things that she once enjoyed."

"She got to the point that she believed that she was a complete failure as a mother and was scared that she would cause him harm in the future."

'We need to remove the stigma'

Her friends and family have now started a campaign to "remove the stigma" around post-partum depression (PPD), especially among Indian families.

"This is not just for new Moms, as a society we need to acknowledge that new mothers are susceptible to PPD and remove the stigma associated with mental health related topics."

One thing my friend asked for us to all do is spread awareness about PPD and its severity.

Take 10 min to do a little research & reach out to any new moms you know. Your support can mean a lot.

Resources:https://t.co/DXvstdblGbhttps://t.co/oIQZlgDIqYhttps://t.co/rbnSlL3IwT

— Anand Patel (@anandp29) August 24, 2020

There's also a version in Gujarati