Whether you are preparing for your first child or a consecutive birth, post-partum mental health remains a vital topic for all women undergoing a huge life shift. Being a mom and walking through post-partum is something that we are familiar with here on the Audacious Athletes coaching team, as three of our coaches HAVE walked this very road. However, we've ALL coached women through this season too.
Check out what Coach Brittany has to say about navigating post-partum.
What To Expect
Nobody could’ve prepared me for how challenging the postpartum period would be. In general, but specifically the 4th trimester where you’re simultaneously trying to heal from labor, adjust to your new life as a mom, gracefully let go of your old identity, manage fluctuating hormones & keep up with regular life responsibilities (work, pets, housekeeping, etc) all while on little to no sleep. As much as you attempt to prepare yourself, it’s truly impossible to grasp the degree of overwhelm until you’ve experienced it for yourself.
Everyone is going to have a different experience and enjoy certain periods more than others. That’s perfectly normal. What I was not expecting was how much my mental health was going to plummet & wish it was a topic that had been brought to my attention throughout pregnancy so that I could be more expectant of what I was about to experience. Shifts in mental health is extremely common to experience postpartum, however not talked about as much as it should be due to it’s taboo subject matter.
Baby Blues
For a period, it seemed as though my mental health would fluctuate by the hour. Common symptoms of “baby blues” include:
Mood swings
Anxiety
Sadness
Irritability
Feeling overwhelmed
Crying
Reduced concentration
Appetite problems
Trouble sleeping
Understand that there is a VAST difference between “baby blues” and postpartum depression. “Baby blues” typically only last a few weeks whereas postpartum depression lasts much longer and with more intense symptoms. There is NO shame in experiencing either, they simply require different approaches to help ease symptoms.
Postpartum Depression
Postpartum depression can actually start to surface during the last few weeks of pregnancy, and can last for up to a year after giving birth. It IS something that can interfere with your ability to care for your baby and therefore is something that should be seen by a doctor or mental health professional for.
PPD symptoms include:
Depressed mood or severe mood swings
Excessive crying
Difficulty bonding with your baby
Withdrawing from family and friends
Loss of appetite or eating more than usual
Inability to sleep or oversleeping
Overwhelming fatigue or loss of energy
Less pleasure in activities you used to enjoy
Intense irritability and anger
Fear that you're not a good mother
Feelings of worthlessness, shame, guilt, inadequacy or hopelessness
Reduced ability to think clearly, concentrate or make decisions
Restlessness
Severe anxiety and panic attacks
Thoughts of harming yourself or your baby
Recurring thoughts of death or suicide
What They Don’t Tell You
Other things I experienced postpartum that contributed to shifts in my mental health included:
Severe hair loss and thinning
Excessive sweating
Gum and teeth issues/irritability
Mourning no longer being pregnant/loss of belly
Pressure to lose baby weight/feeling unrecognizable to yourself
Stretchmarks/body changes
Shifts in relationship dynamic
Lack of sleep & poor sleep quality
Stress & shame due to my inability to breastfeed
Severe “mom guilt”
Overwhelm due to the amount of opinions being expressed in regards to parenting styles and techniques
Brain fog
Loneliness/isolation
Lack of support
No time off work
An overwhelming amount of responsibility
Complete lifestyle shift
Temporarily sacrificing prioritizing your own needs and desires
What You Can Do
Full preparation may not be fully achievable but there are steps you can take to minimize symptoms & stress as much as you can beforehand.
Start regularly talking to a mental health professional throughout the early stages of pregnancy.
Discuss all the different ways in which you will need support from & with your partner/support system and how it will look different in each stage of pregnancy & postpartum.
Give yourself grace and understand that you are going through a largely transitional part of life
Attend classes, courses, read books and articles on what to expect postpartum.
Join an online or in-person support group
Know that you are not alone in anything you’re feeling or experiencing.
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