Postpartum stress: A guide for the science-minded parent

© 2007 – 2022 Gwen Dewar, Ph.D., all rights reserved

What causes postpartum stress?

Giving birth is stressful. During labor, the hormones associated with psychological stress–epinephrine and cortisol–rise by a whopping 500% (Alehagen et al 2001). After childbirth, women may feel a number of physical stressors, similar perineal pain, torn tissues, backaches, and urinary tract bug.

But for many parents, the about intense stress is psychological. Parents may notice themselves plagued by

• Poor sleep
• Fears and anxieties near the baby's wellness
• Worries about the post-pregnancy body and sexuality
• Disappointment about the quality of support received from one's partner
• Guilt over having negative thoughts nigh the baby or parenthood
• Financial worries or pressures related to returning to the workplace

And parents may also suffer from the "babe blues," postpartum depression, or postpartum obsessive-compulsive disorder.

The "baby blues," characterized by feelings of sadness, anxiety, and mood swings, is the near mutual condition, estimated to affect 33%-80% of all postpartum mothers (Hopkins et al 1984; Faisal-Cury et al 2008;Hau and Levy 2003; Adewuya 2005; Reck et al 2015). Symptoms typically begin inside the start x days postpartum (O'Hara 1995) and may be triggered by the sudden reduction of progesterone levels after childbirth (Harris 1996).

opens in a new windowPostpartum low is also quite prevalent, affecting up to 25% of new mothers (Gelaye et al 2016).

opens in a new windowPosttpartum obsessive-compulsive disorder may impact x% of women during the showtime two weeks subsequently childbirth.

What makes postpartum stress and then intense, and what can nosotros do about it?

Get social support

The testify is compelling on this point. Parents suffer less distress and handle things better when they get good social support (Hung et al 2011). More generally, people experience greater well-being, less illness, and live longer when the individuals around them are helpful and responsive.

You can read more than about the evidence that social back up buffers us against stress in my weblog postal service opens in a new window"Stressful, unsupportive mates can shorten your life," and in my articles about opens in a new windowresponsive, sensitive parenting and opens in a new windowthe links between social support, religious amalgamation, and health.

Go slumber

New parents are stressed because they don't get enough slumber. Simply it'south not just a question of lost hours. For 1 matter, the weird timing of newborn sleeping schedules tin can disrupt the parent's internal clock. Recent research suggests that baby "jet lag" causes insomnia and postpartum depression (Flora 2005).

For another, sleeping in short intervals is less restorative than sleeping in longer sessions. Curt naps skimp on slow-wave sleep (SWS), a sleep phase associated with reduced stress hormone levels. When people are chronically deprived of SWS, their basal stress hormones climb.

For more than data about newborn slumber–including tips that may help reduce opens in a new windowpostpartum stress–see this article on newborn sleep patterns.

Abandon unrealistic expectations

New mothers may themselves to unrealistic standards—expecting to feel only happiness and selfless, nurturing love after the birth of their children. When the postpartum feel doesn't mensurate up to expectations, mothers may feel inadequate, disappointed, and permit down (Pancer et al 2000).

If you are the victim of unrealistic expectations, take a reality cheque. Newborn care is often exhausting, stressful, muddy work. And recent enquiry suggests that negative thoughts and emotions are a normal part of the postpartum catamenia.

A study conducted by the British National Health Service (Hall and Wittkowski 2006) institute that healthy mothers experienced many of the aforementioned negative thoughts equally do women with postpartum depression. Another study plant that women reported similar rates of anger, annoyance, resentment, and irritability before and after childbirth (Graham et al 2002). New mothers have reason for joy. But childbirth does not magically transform women into perfectly patient and serene Madonnas.

Sympathise that childbirth stress can take lingering effects

Women who receive footling social back up during childbirth have more difficulty postpartum, fifty-fifty weeks later. In fact, in a contempo study of American mothers, 18% of respondents reported symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (Beck et al 2011).

Read more about it in my article about opens in a new windowchildbirth trauma.

Recognize that some newborns are more difficult to care for

Newborns take individual temperaments. Some are relatively easy going. They're good sleepers and relatively easy to soothe. Some are very fussy or "loftier need" babies who need constant attending. And some suffer from colic—bouts of excessive, inconsolable crying.

Clearly, babies who are "high need" and/or colicky are more work. Yous're going to have a tougher fourth dimension if your infant cries persistently despite your attempts to feed, soothe, and concur him. Simply learning more well-nigh persistent crying may assistance y'all cope. For more data, come across the Parenting Science commodity, opens in a new window"Infant crying, fussing, and colic: An anthropological perspective on the role of parenting."

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References

Alehagen Southward, Wijma K, Lundberg U, Melin B, and Wijma B. 2001. Catecholamine and cortisol reaction to childbirth. International journal of behavioral medicine, eight(1): 50-65.

Beck CT, Gable RK, Sakala C, and Declercq ER. 2011. Posttraumatic stress disorder in new mothers: results from a 2-phase U.S. national survey. Birth. 2022 Sep;38(3):216-27.

Flora, C. 2005. An ordinary trigger for the baby blues. Psychology Today 38(2): 21.

Gelaye B, Rondon MB, Araya R, Williams MA. 2016. Epidemiology of maternal low, take chances factors, and kid outcomes in low-income and middle-income countries. Lancet Psychiatry. 3(10):973-982.

Graham JE, Lobel Grand, DeLuca RS. 2002. Anger after childbirth: An overlooked reaction to postpartum stressors. Psycholgoy of women quarterly, 26: 222-233.

Hall PL and Wittkowski A. 2006. An exploration of negative thoughts every bit a normal miracle later on childbirth. Journal of midwifery and women's health 51(v): 321-330.

Harris B. 1996. Hormonal aspects of low. International Review of Psychiatry 8(1): 27-36.

Heh SS, Fu YY, and Chin YL. 2001. Postpartum social back up experience while "doing the calendar month" in Taiwanese women. J Nurs Res 9(3): 13-24.

Hopkins J, Marcus M, Campbell SB. 1984. Postpartum depression: A critical review. Psychological bulletin, 95: 498-515.

Hung CH, Lin CJ, Stocker J, and Yu CY. 2011. Predictors of postpartum stress. J Clin Nurs. 20(v-6):666-74.

Hung CH. 2006. Correlates of first-time mothers' postpartum stress. Kaohsiung Journal of Medical Science 22(10): 500-7.

Hung CH and Chung IL. 2001. The furnishings of postpartum stress and social back up on postpartum women's health status. Journal Adv Nursing, 36(five):676-84.

McLean M and Smith R 1999. Cortioctropin-releasing hormone in human pregnancy and parturition. Trends Endocrinol Metab ten: 174-178.

O'Hara MW 1995. Postpartum depression: Causes and consequences. New York: Springer-Verlag.

Content last modified 4/2018

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Source: https://parentingscience.com/postpartum-stress/

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