What is baby blues?
Baby blues is a mood disorder that generally occurs after childbirth. Also known as the "3rd day syndrome", it most often appears in the days following delivery at the maternity hospital and is short-lived, lasting only a few to ten days. The woman may go from laughter to tears in a matter of minutes, feel anxious, doubtful... in short, go through all kinds of emotions.
Baby blues are very common and normal after childbirth, since around 60% of women experience them. Baby blues disappear as they happen, and require no treatment. However, it should not be confused with post-natal depression.
Does childbirth trigger baby blues?
The baby blues have physiological causes. Indeed, many hormonal upheavals occur after childbirth: progestin levels, the pregnancy hormone, drop sharply, while breastfeeding hormones are produced in large quantities. The woman is therefore subject to all the fluctuations of her hormones, which has a major impact on her mood.
Secondly, it can be due to psychological causes, such as the fear of not being a good mother, or the feeling of an "empty stomach", of a broken link with her baby because the umbilical cord has been cut, but also the fact that the world suddenly revolves around the baby, and everyone wants to hold this baby who is ours.
Finally, the baby blues can also be due to physical causes linked to childbirth. In fact, women don't always feel at ease with their bodies when their bellies are relaxed just after childbirth. They may also experience discomfort, pain, bleeding and fatigue. That's why we offer a collection of soft, comfortable and safe menstrual briefs for pregnancy and motherhood.
What are the symptoms of baby blues?
After childbirth, the symptoms may vary from one woman to another, but the signs of the baby blues are often: the desire to cry for no reason, sadness, moodiness, confusion, irritability, exhaustion, difficulty sleeping, anxiety about being a good mother, tiredness, lack of appetite...
Anxiety, too, linked to the realization of the responsibility that a baby imposes, and the feeling of being overwhelmed by events. Most of the time, this feeling is all the greater in a first pregnancy.
And because the woman feels bad, she feels guilty because she's sad and anxious, even though she was expecting to be happy.
How to cope with baby blues?
To make the best of this period, it's important to be well surrounded by people who are important to the new mother, in particular the partner of the woman who has just given birth. She can also share her anxieties and fears with the midwives present at the maternity ward, who are there to reassure her, surround her and accompany her through this post-partum period. In any case, it's important not to be left alone to face her anxieties and worries. During this period, some midwives prescribe homeopathy, sophrology, relaxation, etc., but there's no need for medication or psychotherapy.
The baby blues need not last very long. Most of the time, it ends when the woman leaves the maternity ward and finds her bearings again. But if it lasts and the symptoms become more severe, it's important to see your doctor. This may be a sign of postnatal depression, which requires moral support.
