It’s very stressful to be a new mother. Between the flood of hormones that rushes after childbirth, to trying to survive on very little sleep, it’s no wonder so many brand new mothers are crying and emotional more often than they would like. Mothers go through childbirth and all that comes with it, only to be handed a newborn when they’ve had very little sleep and told to keep it alive - it’s not easy!
It’s so stressful, that some new mothers worry hard about being in their new role. This worry translates into postpartum anxiety, and this can be even more debilitating. Postpartum anxiety affects as many mothers as postpartum depression does, but it’s just not spoken about enough.
What Is Postpartum Anxiety?
Anxiety after a baby is an irrational fear or massive worry that something is horrifically wrong. Small worries magnify into massive problems and all of this anxiety is usually related to something happening to the baby. A lot of new parents are told about the baby blues, as if feeling like the baby may die is totally normal. Postpartum anxiety is irrational to everyone else, but it’s not irrational to a mother who is coping with it. Panic attacks and anxiety may be common, but that doesn't mean that it’s easy to cope with.
How To Recognize The Symptoms
If you are worrying about whether you are dealing with anxiety after a baby, here are some of the symptoms you can expect:
- A sense of foreboding and dread
- Racing thoughts and an inability to slow them
- Constantly feeling on edge
- Worrying about the baby more than necessary
- Trouble falling asleep
- Feeling agitated
- Fast heart rate and rapid breathing
This type of anxiety is way more intense than regular worrying, and while some mothers use medication from the doctor to help their anxiety, others learn more about natural methods of managing anxiety to feel better. The worries with postpartum anxiety are more extreme than the regular parenting worries, such as panicking about a baby who is completely on track where they should be. Some mothers panic that someone is going to take the baby away from them - it’s debilitating for some women and they’re not able to overcome it without help.
You can’t give a panicked mother perspective: you know the logic behind the thoughts, and you see that you’re panicking, but you can’t help it. Dealing with it takes a lot of courage, as many mothers are afraid to admit that they feel overwhelmed in case they attract the attention of those who will deem them unfit to work. It’s a sad thing to have to worry about, and yet so many mothers do. Anxiety isn't a joke, and if you think you may be suffering with it, you need to speak to your midwife or doctor. They will be able to give you some advice on techniques that you can use to get through the panic as it happens. Take some time to assess your feelings and feel okay about asking for help. Parenting is hard; you don't need anxiety to make it harder.
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