Perinatal health experts and campaigners have praised the singer Adele for highlighting the issue of postpartum psychosis in new mothers.

Her best friend, Laura Dockrill – a poet, author, illustrator and short story writer – was diagnosed with postpartum psychosis after giving birth to a boy, who is Adele’s godson.

Adele, who has spoken candidly about her own struggles with postnatal depression following the birth of her son Angelo, shared the “intimate, witty, heartbreaking and articulate” blog written by her friend about the experience with her 32.6m followers on Instagram, saying: “Mamas, talk about how you’re feeling, because in some cases it could save yours or someone else’s life.”

The illness, which occurs in about one in every 1,000 women (0.1%) who have a baby, according to the Royal College of Psychiatrists, can include hallucinations, delusions, mania, low moods, loss of appetite, insomnia, feeling suspicious or fearful, being confused and behaving in a way that is out of character.

In an article written for Mother Of Fall Lists, Dockrill described how her life spiralled out of control after the birth of her son six months ago, and she suffered “insomnia, delusions, suspiciousness and paranoia”.

In the blog, Dockrill – who had no previous history of mental illness – said her doctor believes the illness could have been triggered by a “horrific” labour, which left her feeling like she had “pushed out my personality as well as a baby”.

At one point she was separated from her baby for two weeks to enable her to recover, and at her lowest ebb her partner, Hugo, sent her pictures of herself, and her friends and family to remind her who she was.

“Even though postnatal depression and the psychosis are both treatable, even when my doctor said I would 100% recover, I remember thinking, ‘Maybe others do, but not me, this is me forever’.”

She is now recovering with the help of the right medication, a psychiatrist and her family and is feeling “happy, confident and strong”, she wrote.

Elizabeth Duff, senior policy advisor at the National Childbirth Trust, praised both women for speaking out about their mental health issues.

“It is very important for women to share their stories and talk about their mental health, in the same way we talk about the physical aspects of childbirth,” she said.

“Most women give birth without trauma, but having taboo about any issue around childbirth can leave people more isolated, feeling more guilty and with less knowledge about what they are experiencing.”

It is not clear what causes postpartum psychosis, according to the NHS, although family history, a previous episode of postpartum psychosis, and people with a diagnosis of bipolar disorder or schizophrenia are thought to be more at risk. Experts also believe that a traumatic birth or pregnancy can also be a trigger. It can have devastating consequences: in 2014 new mother Charlotte Bevan, 30, killed herself and her baby after walking out of hospital in Bristol.

In June, the NCT revealed that nearly half of mothers experienced mental health problems at some time during pregnancy or in the first year of their child’s life, and almost half of these mothers did not have the problem addressed by a doctor or other health professional.

Earlier this year, experts and mental health practitioners welcomed a commitment from NHS England to spend £365m on perinatal mental health services, but warned that women suffering from postpartum psychosis and other mental health illnesses still face a postcode lottery when it comes to care.

Analysis was published in January on all 101 perinatal suicides in the UK and Ireland between 2009 and 2013 and found that if these women became ill today, 40% would not be able to get any specialist perinatal mental healthcare, while only 25% would get the highest standard of care. The researchers said that half of such suicides could be prevented by better care.

There are 111 beds across the 15 mother and baby units (MBUs), but that is not enough with no facilities in Northern Ireland, and Wales, two in Scotland and large areas of south-west, eastern and north-west England without a facility.

Dr Virginia Beckett, of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, said that – despite improvements – provision for women with postpartum psychosis was still woefully inadequate, with 111 beds in MBUs for the 750 women per year who were likely to need them.

“I think awareness among professionals is improving and we are recognising the impact of traumatic birth experiences on mental health,” she said.

“I think we have to stop insisting that pregnancy and childbirth have to be perfect, by their very nature they are imperfect and if we didn’t feel under pressure from unachievable standards, we might not feel like such failures when it doesn’t work out quite like that.”

When Elaine Hanzak had her son 22 years ago, little was known about postpartum psychosis. “I got comments like, ‘I’m surprised at you; you have everything you have always wanted’, and ‘pull yourself together’,” said Hanzak, who wrote Eyes Without Sparkle: a Journey through Postnatal Illness.

She became ill seven months after her child was born, finding herself one rainy December night on the steps on a local church in only her nightgown.

“I was looking for their peace of mind. I didn’t want to die but I needed my brain to stop. It is constant, there is no off switch,” she said. “It feels like it won’t end, which is why people take their own lives.”

Hanzak went on to recover fully and has since spoken to hundreds of other families who are dealing with the illness. “That is the message: you can get better, even if you don’t feel you can.”

Although she didn’t have a second child, she said mothers who have experienced the illness can get support if they choose to become pregnant again. “People need the tolls to have the conversations and put a plan in place, but perinatal illness doesn’t have to be a contraception.”

• For support with postpartum psychosis, visit Action On Postpartum Psychosis on www.app-network.org. In the UK, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international suicide helplines can be found at www.befrienders.org.