Baby blues in its first symptoms is like postpartum depression. You shouldn't feel inferior to it because of this: baby blues affects nearly 80 percent. freshly baked mothers. Fortunately, baby blues is not an illness, but an emotional state. Don't worry, baby blues, or postpartum sadness, is normal, mostly caused by hormonal changes.

Baby bluessame aspostpartum depressionmakes you nervous, anxious and sad. With baby blues you feel you are losing something, but you are not fully aware of what. You easily lose your temper, you are impatient, distracted and tearful. Almost every young mom who suffers from baby blues has trouble sleeping and is constantly tired. She does not want to take care of herself or the house, and caring for a child becomes a duty beyond her strength. Luckily, baby blues wears off quickly, unlike postpartum depression.

Baby blues - guilty hormones

Baby blues usually makes itself felt in 3-5. one day after childbirth, after a week the symptoms decrease, and after two weeks, they disappear. Its mechanism has not been fully understood yet. Whether or not it occurs is probably influenced by two factors: hormonal fluctuations and a woman's psyche. Corticotrophin (CRH) is a hormone secreted by the hypothalamus under stress. Its task is to regulate the secretion of hormones responsible for the increase in the level of cortisone in the blood. Cortisone keeps blood pressure normal, which allows us to function normally even in times of high tension. And everything would be fine, if it were not for the fact that in the last trimester of pregnancy, the level of CRH increases threefold, because the hormone is secreted not only by the hypothalamus but also by the placenta - in order to prepare the woman for the stress associated with childbirth. However, a few hours after the birth of the baby, the amount of CRH drops sharply. It is believed that the deficiency of this hormone contributes to the deterioration of the young mother's mood. Scientists have observed low levels of CRH in people suffering from severe depression. Fortunately, a few weeks after giving birth, your body begins to produce enough corticotropin, and it usually subsides postpartum sadness.

You must do it

Advice for Dad:

  • If you see that your wife is sad,tired, take a few days off to relieve her. Do her chores whenever you can, and don't blame her if dinner doesn't show up on time.
  • Show your wife that you love her. Small gifts, flowers or even just a phone with the question: "How are you feeling?" will make her feel that you remember about her.
  • If you are not going to work the next day, persuade your wife to express milk in the evening and at night you should get up and feed the baby so that she can sleep.
  • Invite her to a nice dinner, go to the movies. And let the grandmother take care of the baby during this time or find a babysitter.
  • Take over some of the household chores - ironing, shopping, vacuuming. If you can, hire a housekeeper to clean up or cook dinner, and maybe to go for a walk with your toddler. It is not true that a woman sitting at home with a child has time for this. The baby needs attention, and when it sleeps, mom should take a nap as well.

Fatigue and fear of guilty baby blues

The second factor that can contribute to postpartum sadness is the personality of the woman. Baby blues appears more often in women who lived at high speed before giving birth and worked until the last day before giving birth. A sudden and radical change of lifestyle, the necessity to sit at home with a toddler, makes them anxious and a painful feeling of emptiness. Doctors also see a connection between low mood in young mothers and the exhaustion associated with heavy labor. The woman's fears for the he alth of the child and fears whether she can cope with the new situation are also important. That is why in the first weeks after giving birth it is so important that the partner and family show the young mother as much tenderness, kindness and… patience as possible. Baby blues is not a disease, so it is not treated with pharmaceuticals or psychotherapy. You just have to help the woman get through this time.
Baby blues differs from classic postnatal depression in that after a few weeks she gets married without a trace. However, if your symptoms continue to worsen, you should see your doctor. It may mean that a woman suffers from depression and requires the help of a specialist.

Important

The problem of baby blues does not exist in the societies of South America and Africa, where after giving birth a woman "goes to a higher level of initiation", that is, after completing certain ceremonies, she is solemnly admitted to the group of mothers. This prepares her for her new role and allows her to gradually get used to the changes. There is no such custom in our culture: the mother's environment most often focuses on the child, which gives the woman a sense of alienation and abandonment.

Don't worry, baby blues will pass

A woman who is breastfeeding should not swallow any herbal preparations to improve her mood without consulting her doctor, especially antidepressants. If you just got baby blues, you can help yourself in another way:

  • Don't blame yourself. You can't learn motherhood in one day, so don't hold it against yourself if you don't change your baby quickly, have feeding problems or do not feel like a perfect mother for any other reason.
  • Talk about your feelings with other young moms. If none of your girlfriends have children, look for help on online pregnancy and toddler care forums.
  • Don't lock yourself in four walls. Visit places where you enjoy being as often as possible. Convince your husband to come home early from work and stay with the baby while you go shopping or go to a cafe with your friend.
  • Don't deny yourself pleasure. A good book or a good movie will certainly improve your mood - but choose a comedy rather than a psychological drama.
  • Sleep when you can. Insomnia is bad for your well-being, so it's no wonder that you are irritated now that you chill out at night. Therefore, when your toddler is sleeping during the day, it is necessary to take a nap.
  • Visit the workplace. Especially when you worked a lot before giving birth. Find out what's up, read the emails. Show your friends the baby or show off your photos.
  • Eat he althy. Vegetables, fruits and fish make you less vulnerable to stress. Pij also a lot of still water - dehydration causes fatigue and headaches.
  • After consulting your doctor, start exercising. Movement helps you feel better (increases the level of endorphins), and allows you to return to the form and figure before pregnancy.

"M jak mama" monthly

Category:

Pregnancy