From a young age, Rainie Ang dreamed of becoming a mother. But she didn’t know that she would face an agonizing trauma after her childbirth.
After marrying at 31, Ang spent two years trying to conceive. In September 2024, she finally welcomed her baby boy. “I was overjoyed. I spent my days in hospital cuddling him and watching him having hiccups,” she said.
But things quickly took a dark turn.At home,she became sleep deprived and exhausted, Ang slipped into confusion. Just six days after giving birth, she began feeling detached from reality. Simple tasks overwhelmed her. “I couldn’t decide between a fork or chopsticks,” she shared.
Despite speaking to loved ones, her insomnia and mental state worsened. One afternoon, while pumping breast milk, she broke down completely, crying, screaming, and believing she was locked away from her family.
Diagnosed later with postpartum psychosis, a rare, severe mental illness, Ang was taken to the Institute of Mental Health. Still unaware of her condition, she asked nurses if she was at KK Hospital.
Transferred for infection testing, she endured painful procedures and terrifying hallucinations, including visions of giving birth to a daughter and shadowy figures entering her ward. “I thought the world was going to end,” she said.
She spent three weeks hospitalised, separated from her newborn. Her condition improved after doctors adjusted her medication.
Finally, on October 7, she returned home, just in time for a planned photo shoot. “It felt like I had been given a second chance to live,” she said.
Now fully recovered, Ang is back at work and thriving as a mum. Feeding and playing with her son feel like victories. She shares her story to raise awareness.“I have no regrets,” she said. “I would go through it all again to have my son. He is so precious.”
