For Kapuso actress Kylie Padilla, the recent tragedy in Sta. Maria, Bulacan, goes beyond police tapes and blaming the suspect. It was news that sent mixed emotions, rather than a one-sided story: a mother allegedly set her three sons on fire, killing them, and eventually herself.
Your average Juan Dela Cruz might shrug this off as arson, some revenge game, maybe, or even insanity. But for Padilla, the news felt somewhat personal. As a mother, she can relate to what authorities believe to be one of the culprits: postpartum depression.
To see and hear about a tragedy that involves children is already painful, let alone that the mother is behind the crime. It spread like wildfire online, unearthing the silent struggles of womanhood that often go unnoticed.
Padilla took to social media and opened up about her battles. She admitted that she, too, had experienced postpartum depression following the birth of her second child, Axl Romeo, with estranged husband Aljur Abrenica.
“I never thought I would ever get past that dark place that I was in,” Padilla wrote, adding that her “support system then was also lacking.” She also shared about her bout with binat, a belief associated with postpartum depression, or when a woman’s body may not fully recover from the physical and emotional labor of childbirth.
Padilla’s honesty didn’t materialize because of her showbiz status. It didn’t come from someone who was looking for a truck-load of likes, shares, and stars. It came from a woman, a mother who fought her monsters, and from someone with genuine care.
“This post is not about me. I had savings. I had the ability to support myself. But not all moms have this.”
It was Padilla’s vulnerability that made her message powerful. It was loud enough to shake the common notion that mothers, supermoms as they may be, can just get out of bed after hours of labor. Yes, they can be strong, selfless, and resilient, but they are still breakable.
The message was clear. It was an eye-opener and a call to action. Padilla pushed for #PaidMaternityLeave and #postpartumdepressionawareness as her war-cry to tell a sad reality: postpartum depression is a mental health issue that we need to pay more attention to.
“Mothers deserve time to rest their bodies and minds after childbirth. They deserve to be able to take care of themselves as well as their children.”
“We need a world where everyone feels supported! So our moms can better take care of our children!”
