Hormonal shifts can cause noticeable emotional changes for women, like the days before your period when you may feel irritable, moody, and sad.
Another time when a woman’s hormones go through rapid change is after she gives birth. This can contribute to a condition that up to 1 in 7 women experience: postpartum depression.
There’s an overwhelming amount to learn and experience as a new mother — not to mention getting to know your new baby — and if you’re hit with postpartum depression, it’s important to seek treatment for it.
If you suspect that you’re impacted by postpartum depression, reach out to Janelle Adams, MA, LMFT, ATR at In Touch Counseling. She provides holistic care for women experiencing a wide range of mental health challenges, from postpartum depression to trauma and anxiety.
With help, you can find relief and fully enjoy your baby and your new role as their mother.
It’s important to know some of the hallmarks of postpartum depression. If you can identify them, you’ll know when it’s time to seek help.
Symptoms you should be on the alert for that are postpartum depression warning signs are:
It’s normal to feel nervous about caring for a newborn, but if your anxiety is ratcheting up, it could be a sign of postpartum depression.
A more severe symptom is when this anxiety progresses to a panic attack, which is characterized by a racing heart, sweating, shaking, nausea, and headache, as well as other symptoms, including dizziness and an inescapable sense that disaster is around the corner.
Again, it’s normal to feel tired when you have a new baby — they tend not to let you sleep much!
But if you can’t shake off your fatigue or you begin to be plagued with insomnia, then you’re could be dealing with postpartum depression.
You might burst into tears suddenly, or some emotional trigger might set you off, but if you find yourself having more frequent crying jags, this also points to postpartum depression.
If there’s one thing a baby will do, it’s make you reassess what productivity means. Pre-baby, you may have been able to breeze through an eight-item to-do list, but now you’re lucky if you get one or two things done.
If you’re affected by postpartum depression, you may notice a sharp decrease in energy and a loss of motivation, as well as a tendency to isolate.
Mild postpartum depression symptoms include increased irritability and restlessness, but a more severe manifestation would be extreme mood swings that feel chaotic and disturbing.
We mentioned the connection between dramatic hormonal shifts that occur quickly after birth and depression. A woman’s estrogen and progesterone levels are 10 times greater when a woman is pregnant, and they go back to pre-pregnancy levels in just three days following delivery.
Other contributing factors to postpartum depression include sleep deprivation, the significant changes happening in a new mother’s body (getting ready to nurse, for example), and an overall high level of concern about being able to take care of a newborn well.
When you seek treatment for postpartum depression at In Touch Counseling, your care plan will likely include a prescription antidepressant, which helps regulate your mood by balancing the chemicals in your brain.
Taking medication is always a concern for new mothers who are breastfeeding, and Janelle is able to help you weigh the advantages and risks connected with antidepressant therapy. Fortunately, a lot of antidepressants are safe to take while nursing your baby.
Additionally, we recommend psychotherapy to address your symptoms, and nutrition plays a large role in easing postpartum depression symptoms.
Since we take a whole-person approach to your care, we incorporate integrative wellness coaching into your postpartum depression treatment. This involves:
It’s vital that you get treated for postpartum depression not only for your own sake, but your baby’s as well. Studies suggest that this condition can have negative effects on your baby, including slowed social skills and language development, the development of learning disorders and behavioral issues, developmental delays, and challenges with both sleeping and eating.
Additionally, unaddressed postpartum depression can lead to extended depression, problems bonding with your baby, and a higher risk of having thoughts of self-harm or suicide.
If you’re struggling with the symptoms we’ve discussed here, reach out to Janelle to make an appointment by calling our Camas office at 360-205-5236 or by using our convenient online booking tool.
