After penning letters to her husband Steve and six-month-old daughter Eve, Claire applied foundation and lipstick, then tied a loop in her dressing gown belt and attempted to hang herself from a door frame.

“I had it all planned,” says Claire.

“I’d arranged for Eve to be in nursery.

"I wrote in the letters that I loved her and Steve, but I felt they’d be better off without me.

"I put make-up on because I wanted to look my best when Steve saw my body.”

Claire, now 28, was being treated for post-natal depression in the mother and baby unit of a psychiatric hospital when she tried to take her own life.

“A nurse found me unconscious and brought me round. I was so angry she’d saved me, although I’m eternally grateful now,” Claire explains.

As many as one in five women is thought to develop post-natal depression (PND), and celebrity mothers – including Gwyneth Paltrow and Katie Price – have all admitted to suffering some form of it.

Lisa Tanner, co-founder of Mother’s Voice, which offers a 24-hour support network for mums, explains: “Post-natal depression ranges from ‘the blues’ – normal for most new mothers – to puerperal psychosis which affects one in 500 mums and can provoke hallucinations and thoughts of harming oneself or others.”

In rare cases, PND ends in tragedy.

Earlier this month, a mother in south London allegedly stabbed and killed her five-year-old son and four-year-old daughter, and attempted to murder her six-month-old baby girl.

Friends and neighbours say she was a “devoted” mother but was suffering from post-natal depression.

Claire never hurt Eve – nor did she have any thoughts about harming her.

But she sometimes wished she hadn’t been born.

“I remember saying to Steve: ‘Let’s get Eve adopted and try for another baby – one I can get on with’,” admits Claire.

“I felt Eve had something against me personally," says Claire.

“I thought she was crying on purpose every time I cuddled her.”

There is no definitive cause of PND, although possible factors include a traumatic event during childbirth, a history of depression, or a difficult pregnancy.

Claire thinks her illness had several causes. “I suffered severe sickness during my pregnancy, sometimes vomiting up to 20 times a day,” she says.

“Then I gave birth by emergency Caesarean under general anaesthetic.

"By the time I woke up, everyone else had cuddled Eve except me.

When Claire was discharged a week later, she already had some of the symptoms of post-natal depression.

“I made sure Eve’s physical needs were attended to – she was fed and changed – but I neglected her emotionally.

"I didn’t want to pick her up,” Claire admits.

“I’ve never felt more out of control. My last thought at night was: ‘I hope I don’t wake up’.”

Claire, from Tyne and Wear, went to her GP, who prescribed antidepressants.

But they had no effect.

So Claire went back to her job as head of human resources for a charity.

But, five weeks later, Claire felt suicidal.

Her doctor sent her to a specialist, who referred her to a psychiatric hospital in nearby Morpeth.

She took baby Eve with her.

“I was in a mess,” Claire says.

“I started to self-harm, gouging chunks of flesh out of my arm with my fingernails.

"I was so numb inside that causing myself physical pain was my way of feeling something.”

It was during this time that Claire tried to hang herself.

When that didn’t work, she took an overdose of paracetamol she’d bought while on a day out with Steve.

“It was a cry for help,” she says. “I took a handful of tablets, then told a nurse.”

Claire had counselling to help her bond with Eve, and underwent electroconvulsive therapy (ECT).

Performed under general anaesthetic, ECT sends an electric impulse through the brain to induce seizures and ‘rewire’ the brain.

“I’d heard about ECT being used in the ’50s but had no idea it still happened,” says Claire.

“I was shocked when they suggested it, but by then I didn’t care what they did.”

Although she felt no immediate effect, today she’s convinced ECT saved her.

Claire was discharged last October. She’s still taking antidepressants but is back at work.

“PND is not something you’re cured of overnight,” she says.

“I love Eve so much, but I can’t think about having more children.

"It’s a shame, because I always wanted a large family.

“My case is not unique.

"New mothers talk about the physical scars of birth but there’s a huge taboo surrounding the psychological ones.

“Women should not be afraid to say: ‘I think I need help.’ If I can recover from PND, anyone can.”

Photography: Alan Peebles Hair & Make-Up: Julie Pattinson at NE Representation For more on Mother’s Voice visit mothersvoice.org.uk