Pakistani actor Sarwat Gilani recently spoke about her struggle with postpartum depression following the birth of her daughter, stating how she wanted to hurt her newborn as she was unable to deal with the feelings of postpartum depression.

Gilani shared a clip of an interview with a local news outlet on Instagram with the caption, “Postpartum Depression is real, do not ignore it, read about it, be empathetic towards women, daughters, sisters and wives going through it.

“For further information on this topic please contact your physician. Turn your struggle into strength.”

Sharing her experience Gilani stated how “during that time I learnt what postpartum depression actually is.”

“I met my baby after four days in the hospital as I had a serious surgery. She was struggling to have milk and I too was struggling. So, I had this feeling that I should better let her go just to get rid of the stress I am going through,” she was quoted as saying.

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She added how she told her husband, Fahad, that “I wanted to hurt the newborn. He told me that these are postpartum blues,” she added.

“So, it’s okay and it is not your permanent feeling. You need the awareness that the strange feeling that you have – they are not you. It’s just the mental state that you are going through. Therefore, you must read more about postpartum depression to understand it better. Anything can happen to a person during that stage.”

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Sarwat made her movie debut with the Pakistani telefilm - ‘Shadi Aur Tum Say?’.

Her first theatrical release was ‘Jawani Phir Nahi Ani’ and received much critical acclaim for her role in Saim Sadiq’s ‘Joyland’ - which was shortlisted for the 95th Academy Awards.

‘Joyland’ was also Pakistan’s first competitive entry at Cannes, winning the Cannes Queer Palm prize as well as the Jury Prize in the Un Certain Regard category.

Gilani is married to cosmetology surgeon and actor Fahad Mirza. The couple also has two sons.