A lot of things change after childbirth. You are sleeping less, your hormones are still regulating, your body is recovering from 9 months of pregnancy and then the trauma of labor…so of course you’re going to feel tired and sad and irritable sometimes. So maybe you shrug it off as the baby blues or adjusting to motherhood…but is it more than that?

Women often second guess their emotional and physical experiences. I often hear from friends and the female clients I see ‘I didn’t want to be dramatic’… ‘I figured I was just being sensitive’… ‘I didn’t want to appear weak or be judged as a bad mom.’

And with these thoughts we shrug off feelings of anxiety and depression and shame ourselves in the process.

So how do you know if it’s more than just the baby blues? I’m going to talk about the ways in which postpartum anxiety and depression differ from the baby blues but the bottom line is: you will know when something is off.

Women are extremely intuitive when it comes to their body and emotions. When something feels wrong, you need to trust your gut.

And because trusting our gut is hard…. Let’s dive in more.

Baby blues are a mild and temporary form of depression that fade once hormone levels balance out (estrogen and progesterone significantly decrease postpartum). Baby blues occur within the first few days of giving birth but typically dissipate by 2 weeks postpartum.

If symptoms of depression and anxiety are lasting more than 2 weeks and are negatively impacting your ability to get through your day it’s not the baby blues.

Postpartum depression and anxiety share a lot of the same symptoms as Major Depressive Disorder and Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Including difficulty sleeping, changes in appetite, frequently crying and irritability. The difference is that postpartum depression and anxiety occur in the context of childbirth and have symptoms directly related to this experience.

This includes:

• Excessive worry about the health and wellness of your baby. For example, frequently checking to see if your baby is still breathing (even waking the baby up to check)
• Worry about your ability to be a good parent and constantly seeking validation from others
• Difficulty bonding with your baby
• Thoughts of leaving or harming your baby
• Difficulty leaving the baby with someone else, even for a brief period of time

The strongest people I know are women. Think about everything your body just went through and ask yourself: why am I expecting myself to not be affected by this? You are not alone and there is no shame in needing support as you adjust to motherhood.

Authentic Change Therapy is dedicated to helping women navigate their postpartum journey. If you are interested in therapy for postpartum depression and anxiety in St. Louis, schedule a session with us at our Clayton, MO office.