Baby Blues vs. Postnatal Depression:
Baby Blues vs. Postnatal Depression:
Day 3 hits and you feel like absolutely everything is falling apart. Your body is aching, your boobs are killing, and who on earth thought you could handle the huge responsibility of raising a human being?! Welcome to baby blues, where raging hormones, leaking milk, a screaming baby and torturous exhaustion feel like a rather large bus has just hit you.
Thankfully, these feelings ease quite quickly. A boost of milk-creating hormones on day three to five causes a huge roller coaster of emotions like never before. Communicate with your partner, create a plan together, and know that you will be okay. This phase, also known as the ‘Baby Blues’, won’t last more than one to two weeks, so take some big deep breaths, and get some much needed rest. You’ve got this.
Did you know more then 1:10 women will experience postnatal depression?
It can be an absolute monster in your life. The best thing to fight it? Getting the right education, talking about how you are feeling, and getting on top of it early. So let’s dive in.
Some of the most common symptoms of Postnatal Depression include:
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Loss of appetite
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Difficulty in seeing anything positive
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Not wanting to leave your bed
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Difficulties bonding with your baby
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Feeling a sense of hopelessness
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Feeling incapable of caring for yourself and/or your baby
What should you do if you think you might be struggling with postnatal mental health issues? TELL SOMEONE.
That sounds simple, but I promise that when you speak up, acknowledge your feelings and let people help you, it will be so much easier. It doesn’t make you a failure, it makes you strong enough to admit that it takes a village to raise a baby. Speak to your partner, head to a GP you trust, and seek a referral to someone who can help you in all the right ways. It may or may not take medication to get you feeling better, but let’s start early!
If you cannot quite get there yet, head to PANDA or Beyond Blue.
Most of us have probably already heard about Postnatal Depression in one way or another, but I would like to lightly touch on other forms of postnatal mental health issues, which can include postnatal anxiety, OCD and psychosis. These are all very real and scary issues for new mum’s to deal with. If you feel like you are struggling and your symptoms don’t quite ‘tick the box’ of postnatal depression, don’t disregard your struggles- speak up.
https://www.panda.org.au/info-support
Beautiful mama @jadelizroper