Postpartum Anxiety (PPA) can happen at any moment after any delivery. It is more than just feeling inadequate, stressed out, or lonely. Postpartum anxiety is when you can’t fall asleep for hours at night due to racing thoughts, not being able to finish a task you start, and rechecking your nursery temperature even though you changed it minutes ago. It’s more than being worried. PPA is not knowing why you feel scared. One doctor explained it as, “I think of postpartum anxiety as the loss of the normal sense of balance and calm”. The worst part about it is that it gets in the way of taking care of your baby.
About 10% of women will be diagnosed with PPA, however less than that will be able to seek out help in order to manage it. After experiencing postpartum anxiety that included panic attacks, daily fights with controlling my breath, and horrible insomnia, my OBGYN advised me to seek help because I needed to enjoy being with my baby. I agreed with her that I needed to change my outlook on motherhood, but I didn’t know where to start. With the help of my husband and mother, we came up with a plan to help manage my postpartum anxiety. Here are some ideas that you can implement into your life if you are experiencing anxiety with your newborn baby.
Create Routines
Routines are wonderful in the sense that they are more flexible than a schedule. A simple routine of waking up before your baby so you can shower will immensely change how your day will go. Your mind will appreciate knowing what is coming next and that is all you need to focus on. Babies also thrive on routines because they can anticipate getting fed or winding down to go to sleep. For me, I needed to make sure that I got ready for the day even if I wasn’t planning on going anywhere. I started to have better days when I would simply change out of my pajamas before noon.
Remember Hobbies
I became so completely immersed in being a new mom that I didn’t think it was right to do my hobbies anymore. I felt guilty trying to do something other than play or hold my baby while he was awake. While it is difficult to try and fit everything into one day, it is very important to do the things you loved doing before having a baby. If you played a musical instrument, make time to play it. If you wrote stories, keep writing. Or if you’re like me and loved to crochet, keep crocheting while your baby is content in a swing or doing tummy time. There is no reason to feel guilty about doing a hobby while your baby is happy and awake.
Light Exercise
Having a winter baby definitely hit my mental health hard. I didn’t realize that not going outside for three months was a huge deal (after this year, I think we all can relate to this). Living in a high mountain desert, the average temperature outside during the winter is about 20 degrees. To help change things, I was able to take my son on walks through our mall and tried baby yoga with him at home when he would cooperate. If you are a gym goer, you can see if they have a daycare center where someone can watch your baby while you exercise. The whole idea is that exercise produces endorphins in your body, which helps you feel more at ease with the world.
Talk With Professionals
I will forever be grateful for the therapist and psychiatrist that I talked to during postpartum. They worked together to help me stop cycling negative thoughts and to get me to sleep at night. Seeing a therapist should not be seen as you failing, but as you taking back control. It is unfortunate that there are not more mental health resources for women during postpartum, especially if you only have six weeks of maternity leave in order to see someone before going back to work.
Whether this is your first baby or your fourth, postpartum anxiety can arise at any time. It is not something to be embarrassed about, nor is it something that you should just “push through”. You are experiencing anxiety for a reason and it is important that you try to find out why. It may not disappear completely, but by seeking out help and changing a few aspects of your life, you can be more prepared to manage it if it returns.
Source: Parents