Postpartum Depression and Anxiety
Being temporarily sad, anxious, or unhappy is a normal part of being human and not necessarily a cause for concern. But if your feelings of sadness or worries interfere with your ability to enjoy your life or function from day to day, it can be signs of something more serious. When this happens in the weeks and months after giving birth, it's called postpartum depression or anxiety, and if untreated it can interfere with your ability to enjoy your new baby and the experience of motherhood.
Symptoms
Experts say that postpartum depression is extremely common and often goes unrecognized, masked by the normal fatigue, sleeping troubles, moodiness, and other changes that women naturally go through when they have young babies. Here is a list of symptoms that often indicate postpartum depression or anxiety:
Sadness or hopelessness
Anxiety or feeling very overwhelmed
Restlessness or irritability
Loss of appetite
Emotional eating
Unexplained or uncontrollable crying
A lack of energy or motivation
Sleeplessness
Wanting to sleep all the time
Loss of interest in the things that would usually bring you joy or fun
Difficulty remembering things or focusing on a task
Not wanting to be around family or friends
Headaches, heart palpitations, or hyperventilation
Being afraid you may hurt the baby
Being afraid you may hurt yourself
Taking no interest in the baby
Causes
Postpartum depression and anxiety can often be linked to stress caused by the challenges of new motherhood, anxiety over whether you'll be a good mother, lack of sleep or physical fatigue, or hormonal shifts. After you give birth, the amount of estrogen and progesterone in your body drops swiftly, sometimes triggering mood swings. And your thyroid gland, which helps to regulate your metabolism, may also slow down its output of hormones a few months after you give birth, leading to depression-like symptoms including sadness, a feeling of blah-ness, irritability, sleep problems, weight gain, difficulty concentrating, memory loss, and extreme tiredness.
Risk Factors
If you have a family history of depression, were depressed during pregnancy, had a stressful or traumatic birth or a sick or premature baby, or if you are socially isolated, you are at a higher risk of developing postpartum depression or anxiety.
