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In Western countries, many new parents feel alone and sometimes helpless with their new-born baby. This feeling may be linked to a lack of family support in the immediate postpartum period. Broader academic research provides the basis for an in-depth clinical case in which family and geographical distance was a major factor that exacerbated vulnerability. This case shows the multiple and intricate effects of the lack of family support on intrapsychic processes with postpartum depression in the mother that persisted over time, on gradually deteriorating marital and parental relationships, and on difficult early interactions. Revealing the existence of this risk will improve our understanding of the needs of parents and infants after birth. This could have direct repercussions on professional practices and public health programmes, and on a larger scale, on family policies.