Maternity blues
Encyclopedia
The postpartum blues, maternity blues, or baby blues is a transient condition that 75-80% of mothers could experience shortly after childbirth
with a wide variety of symptoms which generally involve mood lability
, tearfulness, and some mild anxiety and depressive symptoms. Baby blues is not postpartum depression
, unless it is abnormally severe.
is delivered, the placental "hormone factory" shuts down causing radical changes in hormone levels, and the woman can suffer symptoms due to withdrawal from the high pregnancy levels of oestrogen
, progesterone
and endorphins. Combined with this shift in hormone levels is the physical, mental and emotional exhaustion - as well as sleep deprivation typical of parenting a newborn. All of these factors contribute to the condition.
It can also be normal for the ovaries (having been virtually inactive for the last six months of the pregnancy) to take a number of weeks to return to producing normal pre-pregnancy hormone levels.
This condition may also be associated with thyroid dysfunction.
An association with serotonin
has been suggested.
). These symptoms can sometimes be a trigger for a pending depressive imbalance, such as postpartum depression
or postnatal psychosis
.
Childbirth
Childbirth is the culmination of a human pregnancy or gestation period with the birth of one or more newborn infants from a woman's uterus...
with a wide variety of symptoms which generally involve mood lability
Lability
Lability refers to something that is constantly undergoing change or something that is likely to undergo change.-Chemistry:The term is used to describe a relatively unstable and transient chemical species...
, tearfulness, and some mild anxiety and depressive symptoms. Baby blues is not postpartum depression
Postpartum depression
Postpartum depression , also called postnatal depression, is a form of clinical depression which can affect women, and less frequently men, typically after childbirth. Studies report prevalence rates among women from 5% to 25%, but methodological differences among the studies make the actual...
, unless it is abnormally severe.
Causes
After the placentaPlacenta
The placenta is an organ that connects the developing fetus to the uterine wall to allow nutrient uptake, waste elimination, and gas exchange via the mother's blood supply. "True" placentas are a defining characteristic of eutherian or "placental" mammals, but are also found in some snakes and...
is delivered, the placental "hormone factory" shuts down causing radical changes in hormone levels, and the woman can suffer symptoms due to withdrawal from the high pregnancy levels of oestrogen
Estrogen
Estrogens , oestrogens , or œstrogens, are a group of compounds named for their importance in the estrous cycle of humans and other animals. They are the primary female sex hormones. Natural estrogens are steroid hormones, while some synthetic ones are non-steroidal...
, progesterone
Progesterone
Progesterone also known as P4 is a C-21 steroid hormone involved in the female menstrual cycle, pregnancy and embryogenesis of humans and other species...
and endorphins. Combined with this shift in hormone levels is the physical, mental and emotional exhaustion - as well as sleep deprivation typical of parenting a newborn. All of these factors contribute to the condition.
It can also be normal for the ovaries (having been virtually inactive for the last six months of the pregnancy) to take a number of weeks to return to producing normal pre-pregnancy hormone levels.
This condition may also be associated with thyroid dysfunction.
An association with serotonin
Serotonin
Serotonin or 5-hydroxytryptamine is a monoamine neurotransmitter. Biochemically derived from tryptophan, serotonin is primarily found in the gastrointestinal tract, platelets, and in the central nervous system of animals including humans...
has been suggested.
Symptoms
- Weepiness and bursting into tears.
- Sudden mood swingsMood SwingsMood Swings is an album by Koby Israelite released in 2005 on Tzadik.- Track listing :# "Dror Ikra" - 3:03# "Return of the Idiots" - 2:19# "It Is Not a War Here" - 7:05# "Ethnometalogy" - 5:08# "Europa?" - 2:49# "Hiriya On My Mind" - 4:53...
. - Anxious and hypersensitive to criticism.
- Low spirits and irritability.
- Poor concentration and indecisiveness.
- Feeling 'unbonded' with baby.
- Restless insomnia.
Baby pinks
Instead of suffering the baby blues, some women experience baby pinks when they are overly and illogically on top of the world (a mild to severe form of maniaMania
Mania, the presence of which is a criterion for certain psychiatric diagnoses, is a state of abnormally elevated or irritable mood, arousal, and/ or energy levels. In a sense, it is the opposite of depression...
). These symptoms can sometimes be a trigger for a pending depressive imbalance, such as postpartum depression
Postpartum depression
Postpartum depression , also called postnatal depression, is a form of clinical depression which can affect women, and less frequently men, typically after childbirth. Studies report prevalence rates among women from 5% to 25%, but methodological differences among the studies make the actual...
or postnatal psychosis
Psychosis
Psychosis means abnormal condition of the mind, and is a generic psychiatric term for a mental state often described as involving a "loss of contact with reality"...
.