Most new moms experience postpartum "baby blues" after childbirth, which commonly include mood swings, crying spells, anxiety and difficulty sleeping. Baby blues usually begin within the first 2 to 3 days after delivery and may last for up to two weeks.
Baby blues are feelings of sadness that you may have in the first few days after having a baby. Up to 4 in 5 new parents (80 percent) have the baby blues. It can affect new parents of any race, age, income, culture or education level.
It is thought to be related to the hormone changes that occur during pregnancy and again after a baby is born. These hormonal changes may produce chemical changes in the brain that result in depression.
If you have a case of the baby blues, try to take care of yourself as much as possible. Eat a healthy diet and get as much rest as you can, especially since exhaustion and sleep deprivation can reinforce and fuel feelings of sadness.
"Baby blues" are probably due to the sudden hormonal and chemical changes that take place in your body after childbirth. Symptoms can include: feeling emotional and bursting into tears for no apparent reason. feeling irritable or touchy.
Hormones. After you have a baby, and you begin to breastfeed, your hormone levels change significantly. If you find yourself crying in the days following the birth of your baby, you are not alone. Eighty percent of new moms experience baby blues or some other negative feelings after giving birth.
Eat and Move
Eat healthy and get some exercise no matter what — even during vacations, holiday seasons and stressful times. Eating poorly, drinking alcohol and slacking on exercise can worsen stress and depression. A simple exercise like walking, even for just 30 minutes a day, helps reduce stress.
Between 3 and 10 days after giving birth, new mums may feel miserable, anxious and tearful. These feelings are known as the 'baby blues'. While new mums may expect to be happy in the period after their baby is born, these feelings are perfectly normal and happen in as many as 8 in every 10 new mums.
The main features of blues include: specific chord progressions, a walking bass, call and response, dissonant harmonies, syncopation, melisma and flattened 'blue' notes.
Mississippi is considered the birthplace of the blues, and two distinct styles developed in the region—Delta blues and hill country blues. True to its name, Delta blues came to life in the fertile farmland (Delta) between the Mississippi and Yazoo Rivers.
The blues has a distinct melancholic and somber tone, which is achieved through vocal techniques such as melisma, rhythmic techniques such as syncopation, and instrumental techniques such as “choking” guitar strings on the neck or applying a metal slide to the guitar strings to create a whining voicelike sound.
Postpartum blues are extremely common and are estimated to occur in about 50% or more of women within the first few weeks after delivery. [1] Postpartum major depression is approximately 4 to 11 times more common among women who have postpartum blues.
Postnatal depression is a type of depression that many parents experience after having a baby. It's a common problem, affecting more than 1 in every 10 women within a year of giving birth. It can also affect fathers and partners.
“Sadness and disappointment oftentimes occur because before the [sex] reveal, you and/or your partner had ideas and fantasies about what life would be like if your baby was the [sex] you preferred,” says Dr. Forshee.
Sooner or later, everyone gets the blues. Feeling sadness, loneliness, or grief when you go through a difficult life experience is part of being human. And most of the time, you can continue to function.
Everyone gets the blues at some time or another. Sadness is a natural emotion and an expected response to setbacks such as a romantic break-up, a demotion at work, or the loss of a friend or relative. Grieving is a process that we all must acknowledge and experience.
If you're very sad, or suffering from depression, your baby experiences those feelings as well. Your emotional state affects your baby's development for a significant portion of their life. Depression is a serious, but treatable, condition that can have a serious impact on your unborn baby.
The Baby Blues
These are hormonal changes that can cause anxiety, crying and restlessness that goes away within the first two weeks after giving birth. Also called postpartum blues, the baby blues are actually a mild — and temporary — form of depression that goes away once hormones level out.
Most new moms experience postpartum "baby blues" after childbirth, which commonly include mood swings, crying spells, anxiety and difficulty sleeping. Baby blues usually begin within the first 2 to 3 days after delivery and may last for up to two weeks.
The individual effects of hormones are unpredictable, so while one woman may feel better breastfeeding, another woman's baby blues might actually get worse. There are also other factors to consider. For example, if breastfeeding is extremely painful for you, then weaning baby might actually help improve your mood.