It’s no secret that many new moms experience the so-called “baby blues” just a few days after giving birth to their child. After all, pregnancy changes the body completely and evokes strong emotions that can sometimes have negative side effects.
This condition can be quite mild lasting only for a few days or weeks or it can become a chronic condition with severe symptoms which results in postpartum psychosis.
For a new mom that needs to take care of their newly-born child, baby blues or postpartum depression is something that shouldn’t be neglected or disregarded in any way. So with that in mind, let’s have a closer look at postpartum depression and how to treat it.
Symptoms of postpartum depression
As mentioned before, postpartum depression can be very mild and will most likely go away on it won after a while. This stage is called baby blues and can develop into postpartum depression if not treated on time.
In such case, you may have to visit a behavioral health clinic to treat the symptoms that often include anxiety, mood disorder, lack of sleep and appetite, feelings of sadness and feeling overwhelmed, prolonged crying and so on. As the condition is left untreated, the symptoms can worsen changing baby blues to depression and even psychosis at some point.
Why postpartum depression does occur?
As mentioned before, pregnancy alters the body, hormones and other chemicals to ensure that the baby develops properly in the womb. Therefore, it’s not uncommon for baby blues to develop during pregnancy and way before child birth.
Speaking of which, the birth of a child can heighten the symptoms, especially considering the baby’s crying, irregular sleep patterns for mothers, breast soreness due to breastfeeding and so on and so forth. Giving birth to a child is a complete shock for the body, to put it mildly so it’s not uncommon for women to react to childbirth in such a way.
How is the postpartum depression treated?
The simplest way to treat this condition is for moms to recover properly after giving birth. That requires help from family and friends, as well as medical professional if needed.
Proper rest and diet are of the utmost importance in this case as medication is usually avoided unless absolutely necessary due to breastfeeding. After the birth, the woman’s body will heal over time and the symptoms should reside after a while but during that time moms need all the support they can possibly get.
Marissa is a Pediatric Occupational Therapist turned stay-at-home mom who loves sharing her tips, tricks, and ideas for navigating motherhood. Her days are filled starting tickle wars and dance parties with three energetic toddlers and wondering how long she can leave the house a mess until her husband notices. When she doesn’t have her hands full of children, she enjoys a glass (or 3) of wine, reality tv, and country music. In addition to blogging about all things motherhood, she sells printables on Etsy and has another website, teachinglittles.com, for kid’s activity ideas.