Baby Blues Vs. Postpartum Depression
by Marguerite Yoder, PsyD, HSPP
The journey to parenthood is one of life’s most significant transitions. In the initial stages, focus and attention will be on ensuring the pregnancy remains as uneventful as possible. As the due date comes closer, focus will naturally shift to getting through an uneventful labor and delivery. Then finally, once baby arrives, all thoughts and attention will be on caring for baby and meeting all their needs. Most of the energy after the birth will be on figuring out one another and creating a new routine, all while surviving on adrenaline. Mental energy is used to ensure that the baby is doing well, gaining weight, and getting enough sleep. Prior to giving birth, there might not have been time or energy to think about what postpartum might look like or how to care for oneself or one’s partner postpartum. Additionally, postpartum might look different than how parents had initially expected, which could either be disappointing or a pleasant surprise.
The postpartum period is an incredibly vulnerable time in a new parent’s life. The mother is still experiencing bleeding and recovering while ensuring that they are meeting the needs of the newborn (e.g., learning how and when to feed, changing diapers, and trying to figure out how to calm them when they cry). New parents are also trying to get accustomed to the new normal of inconsistent sleep. Adjusting to a new schedule and a new way of life combined with changes in hormones can result in experiencing a cluster of symptoms that are often called the “baby blues.”
What are the baby blues?
Approximately 60-80% of new mothers experience the baby blues. These symptoms can include:
- Tearfulness
- Low energy
- Feelings of anxiety, sadness, worry, and panic
- Poor concentration
- Increased emotional sensitivity
These symptoms can come and go throughout the day, usually peak between 3-5 days after delivery, and can last upwards of 2 weeks. The baby blues is not a mild form of depression; it is a natural reaction to the transition to parenthood and the body’s hormones trying to regulate to no longer being pregnant. However, if these symptoms persist for longer than two weeks, increase in severity, and/or the woman begins toexperience a decline in how she feels about herself, then it is important to get assessed for possible postpartum depression or other postpartum disorders (anxiety, OCD, psychosis).
What is postpartum depression?
Postpartum depression is a major depressive episode that occurs during the postpartum period. Symptoms of a major depressive episode include five or more of the following symptoms during the same two-week period:
- Depressed mood most of the day, nearly every day
- Loss of interest, joy, or pleasure
- Significant weight changes or appetite disturbances
- Sleep disturbances
- Fatigue or loss of energy
- Poor concentration
- Feelings of worthless or inappropriate guilt
- Recurrent thoughts of death/suicidal ideation
Depressive symptoms in a postpartum woman might be perceived in more subtle ways, such as feeling overwhelmed, like she can’t cope with the stressors, lack of feelings or connection with the baby, isolation, physical symptoms (a tightness in the chest or feeling sick to the stomach), agitation, and not feeling like herself or feeling like these symptoms will never go away.
Additionally, many women might believe that they can “push through” these symptoms, especially if there is a familial or cultural expectation that they do so. Individuals who are going through any perinatal mood disorder do not need to suffer alone or in silence and are deserving to be connected to providers who can assist them in reducing these symptoms and given hope that things will get better.