The Fourth Trimester: A Look at Postpartum Mental Health
Imagine: a woman just delivered a baby. She is caring for an infant while caring for and healing herself after labor. She is remembering how many wet diapers the baby just had and is worried about the baby getting enough milk—breast milk or formula. Not to mention the guilt or shame some may bring for choosing one over the other. In addition to all of this, she is navigating this new world for the first time. Then, add in all the details of birth certificates, medications, doctors in and out of her room… It is hard to think past anything but the next few hours. It’s a whirlwind for many even with a support system, but those doing it with little help adds yet another layer of difficulty.
What is supposed to be the most beautiful time—meeting your child and basking in the newborn snuggles and joy of newfound motherhood—can carry its own difficult weight. It is beautiful and miraculous, vulnerable and painful, emotionally and physically. My upcoming blogs will focus on these joys and heartaches that motherhood can contain.
Putting yourself on the back burner
After a new baby is brought into the world, processing your own emotions or expectations goes on the back burner. This mental load for mothers in the first few weeks is all-consuming. Many adjust, but many do experience more stress. There are several ways this can look.
The “Baby Blues”
Some mothers experience sadness related to the baby or excessive crying or anger in the first four weeks. These are called the “baby blues.” While the baby blues are initially experienced by 70% of women, if they persist past the first four weeks, these heightened emotions are considered postpartum depression. More formally, it’s called Major Depressive Disorder with Peripartum onset [1].
This may look like feeling sad, having a depressed mood, losing interest in the baby or in activities once enjoyed, difficulty thinking or concentrating, loss of energy, feelings of being a bad mother, and fear of harming the baby or oneself, among others [1]. In this case, one should seek help immediately from a licensed professional or a doctor. Having a team of professionals in the postpartum period is recommended.
Postpartum Anxiety
On the other hand, one may feel heightened anxiety in the period after giving birth. Studies show that those with anxiety during pregnancy also frequently had postpartum anxiety [1]. Many women with anxiety feel guilt or shame and blame themselves when things go wrong. Additionally, they may experience irrational fears or obsessions related to caring for the baby [1]. The experience of this can be debilitating.
Loving mothers well
The joys and pain of motherhood often take mothers by surprise. There are many transitions and much learning that happens in the first year of life of a child and a mother.
For the postpartum mothers in your life, the greatest thing you can do is check in. Think of ways you can provide support: offer to watch their child so they can sleep, provide a meal, be a listening ear, ask them how they are doing emotionally, or help them find a professional.
Checking in with yourself
If you are a postpartum mother yourself, make time to check in with yourself. So much of your world is based around the child or children that it is easy to forget about yourself.
Checking in with yourself can look like keeping a journal to process your emotions, or finding time when the child can be with another caretaker so you can take a healthy step back. Take a walk by yourself or enjoy an activity that you like to do. Remember that you are a person and have interests apart from being a mother. These moments are important because they can provide a renewal and perspective shift, even if they are small bits of time. Also, having a friend or a mother that has been through it already to talk through what you’re feeling or processing lately is helpful as well.
Looking ahead
Looking ahead, I’ll continue this series on motherhood and mental health. Stay tuned for more on what it looks like to recognize the joys and pains of motherhood, difficult topics including miscarriage and infertility, and motherhood in the Bible.
[1] Felix Torres, M.D., MBA, DFAPA. (2020, October). What is Peripartum Depression (formerly Postpartum)? Retrieved February 2023, from https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/peripartum-depression/what-is-peripartum-depression