Kathmandu, July 5 -- A few months ago, a 26-year-old new mother was taken to the Thapathali-based Paropakar Maternity and Women's Hospital after she stopped breastfeeding her newborn and caring for herself. Her in-laws told the attending doctor that she also cried constantly, had stopped eating properly and remained silent most of the time.

"The woman was suffering from a severe form of postpartum depression," said Dr Pratikshya Ghimire, the psychiatrist who treated the patient at the hospital. "We admitted the patient for several weeks, counselled her, and prescribed antidepressants along with other medications."

Mental health issues, including postpartum depression, are among the leading causes of maternal deaths in Nepal that kill sc...