Biological Changes – when you have a baby, there are hormonal changes to your body and sometimes post natal depression may be linked to these. Rapid changes in hormone levels such as estrogen, progesterone and thyroid have a strong effect on moods.
Physical Changes – when you have a baby, this can be a very exhausting process and sometimes there are actual physical problems such as post operative pain after a caesarian section. The mother may not make a quick recovery from this operation as having a demanding infant to care for can make it difficult to rest and she is probably not getting sufficient sleep. If there are older children, they often react to a new baby by demanding even more attention from their mother so there is a never ending cycle of tiredness. If the mother has a poor appetite and is not eating a good, balanced diet, she can become physically run down. Some mothers lack self confidence and feel less attractive after giving birth while others will take special care over their own and their baby’s appearance to cover up their depression. They are good at hiding the depression and baby blues by smiling and keeping up appearances. This can also be exhausting.
Emotional Changes – some women are disappointed to find that they do not feel very maternal when they first hold and care for their new baby. They were expecting to love their baby at first sight but instead feel tired and even detached. This can be quite a common reaction but they usually grow to love their baby gradually over time. It is important not to worry or to be disappointed if the birth of your baby does not live up to your expectations – it is a very emotional time and the highs and the lows can both be extreme.
Social Changes – when you have a baby, this can be a great upheaval in
your life. A new baby makes it difficult to have an active social life and it
is best not to even try to have one. It is hard enough at this time for the
baby’s parents to spend time together as a couple. Often new parents live
far away from other family members who would have helped out at this time. For
a new mother not to have her own mother for support and guidance, can be very
difficult. In addition, new mothers may have built up in their mind that having
a new baby in the home would be a wonderful, glowing time and that everything
would be rosy and perfect. Unfortunately, motherhood is often far from rosy
and perfect as giving birth can be very stressful and we have to learn motherhood
often by trial and error just like any other new job in life. New mothers often
feel quite isolated at home if they have been used to a career but should they
decide to return to work, then the stress of both working and looking after
a new baby can also be very problematic. It can be a no win situation.