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| A very exciting and overwhelming time! Rarely acknowledged, the "fourth trimester" is a major transition time in your life. Here's how to fight postpartum depression, and to help your body return to normal, both inside and out. |
| The 4th Trimester | Postpartum Depression | Get Your Body Back |
The 4th TrimesterWhat happens after the birth:Bleeding for about 4-6 weeks And hormones contribute to a variety of other changes and concerns: Hot flashes and/or excessive sweating Excessive hair loss (temporary!) Post-partum depression Some discomfort and/or dryness with sexual intercourse, especially the first several months Your insides need time to shrink back as well. By your six week check-up, your uterus should have mostly shrunk and moved back into place. But then it takes from six months to a year and a half, maybe two, to go all the way back. Sometimes it doesn't, and that means hormone problems. With my third child, my insides still had not gotten back to normal after almost 2 years, and that kept me from having normal sexual relations with what precious little time I had! My midwife said she could put me on hormones, or I could start taking a natural supplement that would boost my body's ability to make its own hormones. Hands down, I started taking the supplement, periodically. It helped a little bit. When I finally took it consistently for several weeks, I saw a significant improvement! It's called "Plus" and it provides the amino acids and other nutrients necessary for the endocrine system, as well as Ambrotose, their propriety complex of glyconutrients (the natural sugars found in vine-ripened fruits and vegetables) necessary for optimal cell-to-cell communication. Click here to read more. Post Partum DepressionThis is a very overwhelming time! And a major change--your life will never be the same! Even if you've done this before, each new baby is another transition. Usually this is a time of joy and excitement, but not for everyone. And for most of us, the joy and excitement is mixed with some feelings of anxiety, depression, inability to cope, etc, and of course exhaustion, which makes everything worse.Baby Blues is a mild depression affecting up to 80% of women in the weeks following child birth. Post Partum Depression is a more severe depression in the year after the birth, affecting at least one in ten women. Signs include anxiety, panic attacks, feelings of inadequacy, and more. Post Partum Psychosis is an extreme condition needing professional help. If you feel like you may be a danger to yourself or the baby, get help immediately. Go to the nearest emergency room, or if possible, get someone to take you there. Post Partum Depression is caused by a chemical imbalance of hormones. It may be connected to underlying emotional issues brought up by the birth, typically unresolved problems with your own parents or a major disappointment with your birth experience. It almost always means you don't have enough support and are exhausted. The bad feelings may come and go--some days are fine, others are not. If you've had any symptoms within the last two weeks and suspect you may have this depression, check out the links below. Having this illness does not mean you are not cut out to be a mother, it just means you need some help! Baby Blues Connection Post Partum Depression Support and Education A Lighter Shade of Blue Get Your Body BackFirst of all, it took your body 9 months to get to this condition, so don't expect it to be able to go back overnight! If you gained much more than 35 pounds from the pregnancy, it will probably be even harder.Immediately after birth, you typically drop about 4 to 8 pounds plus the weight of the baby, and you go back to the size you were at about 4-5 months pregnant. Over the next weeks, you will tend to lose the next big chunk of weight, especially if you are nursing. You'll probably end up looking like you did when you first started showing. Of course, a sensible diet is critical. If you are nursing, you need to keep your calorie intake from healthy foods very high, and you should not be "dieting" in any way, unless that means cutting back on sweets and refined flours. If you are not nursing, it's a little tricky now since your body may still be trying to "eat for two" and may take a while to adjust. After you lose the bulk of the pregnancy weight in the first 6-8 weeks, the rest is harder. Exercise is necessary, and it needs to be fairly regular (as best as you can with a new baby!). With all 3 times I nursed, it seemed like my body held onto some reserves of fat, in the hips/thighs and of course the breasts, until sometime around 6 months, when I either became sick or started the baby on solid food, whichever came first. Kegel Exercisers See also many books and products for Babies on the Baby Care page. Links to my favorite Products, Resources, and Books Please support this site and buy from our links. |
 Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom: Creating Physical and Emotional Health and Healing
An incredibly thorough book, blending her years of experience as an OB/GYN with a very intuitive, holistic perspective. She covers all areas of women's health from menstruation to menopause, including chapters on pregnancy, birth, post-partum, and motherhood, and birth control options. Highly recommended for any woman of any age! |
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