Postpartum Depression
Being a new mom is the hardest job there is.
From late night feedings and diaper changes to the existential weight of bringing a new life into the world, it’s no wonder so many women suffer from postpartum anxiety, fatigue, depression, and depletion. If you find yourself struggling with new motherhood and feeling like all is lost, please know that you are not alone and that you CAN heal.
We have the power to overcome and move through this difficult time with gentle support and empowering tools. Knowing the underlying causes, being prepared, and reaching for support are your best tools to help you heal and live the beautiful life you deserve.
Adrenals are at the forefront when talking about postpartum.
There is a very real explanation for why women feel postpartum symptoms after giving birth and adrenals are at the forefront of this important conversation. The reason women are more impacted after birth has much to do with the adrenaline involved in the act of giving birth and how this impacts the adrenal glands.
Most people don’t know that adrenal health plays a crucial role in a woman’s reproductive health. Throughout each stage of our pregnancy, including preparing our bodies to conceive, conception, pregnancy, birth, and postpartum it is essential to keep our adrenal glands supported.
Adrenal fatigue or weak adrenals can actually cause feelings of anxiety and depression whether or not you are postpartum. This is often very overlooked when it comes to the discussion around mental health and emotional wellbeing.
When we keep our glucose levels up and stabilize our blood sugars throughout the day, our adrenals don’t need to kick in by pumping out adrenaline to help us keep going.
Here are some tips if you are a Mama in the Postpartum season.
1. Be sure to eat every hour or two to support your system. It’s best if each meal contains a balance of potassium, sodium, and natural sugar (from fruit, greens, potatoes, etc.) but do what you can and take a few bites of something at the very least.
2. One of my favorite postpartum smoothies is a simple blend of frozen mango, banana, spinach, and coconut water. I know a mama who drank this smoothie a few times a day while she was nursing and healing from postpartum depression and anxiety. Combined with melons and other hydrating raw produce and lots of potatoes and brown rice, she was able to nurse her healthy growing newborn through it all. Not all moms can handle eating raw fruits and veggies right away, and while incorporating them is very valuable, if you feel better having cooked or steamed veggies, lentil soups or brown rice bowls with some avocado, that is also great! Work with your body, incorporate healing foods as you can and hydrate well.
3. Keeping your own schedule outside of your new baby may be more than you can manage at this time, so make it a habit to hydrate and snack at each feeding. Have dates, apples, and a bottle of coconut water by your nursing station and snack away while your little one does the same. At each diaper change, drink a full glass of lemon water or some coconut water to replenish.
4. Address heavy metals that can weigh you down
Underlying mental health struggles are quick to bring themselves to the forefront when our resources are low. Now is the time to bring in the heavy metal detox smoothie ingredients. Wild blueberries, barley grass juice powder, spirulina, atlantic dulse, and cilantro can be consumed as another powerful supportive smoothie or feel free to snack on the ingredients individually throughout the day. This smoothie is also very supportive to the adrenals and the nervous system. Please start slow and work with a qualified practitioner or doctor to determine appropriate dosing for you. For those interested, I work 1-on-1 with women in my Fertility/Pregnancy/Postpartum Package. Please note that clients opting into this package will be seen within 4-5 weeks of booking.
5. Self-Care and Soul support
When everything feels like it’s too much to handle and even snacks are too much, grab a spoonful of honey and call on the essential angels if this resonates with you. A favorite practice of mine is pulling on the golden rope of faith.
“Visualize faith as a golden rope—a lifeline—trailing down from the sky. Now grab onto it and pull. Picture that rope leading all the way up into the heavens, sounding a bell loud and clear to announce your belief, intention, and permission. Ring it as many times as you need to, whenever you start to feel doubt or fear creep into your mind. Walk around all day holding onto the rope if you need to, tugging on it wherever you go. Feel faith seep into your being, body and soul. Imagine what your life could be like with help from divine hands.” – Anthony William, Medical Medium
6. Postpartum support plan
Having a postpartum support plan is essential for all mothers-to-be. Planning ahead can save you and your family a lot of heavy lifting if and when you find yourself dealing with PPA/PPD on top of the other needs of new parenthood.
Reach out to family and friends before giving birth and make a plan together, especially if you have a history with adrenal fatigue. Have foods prepared in the freezer for easy grab-and-go snacks and meals – check out our blog recipes for inspiration including my favorite lentil stew for after birth! The kitchen should be stocked with fresh whole fruits, raw honey, potatoes and squash, coconut water, and mineral rich greens. Bring in oats, millet quinoa, lentils, and brown rice too. Be sure to have friends and family ready to be present and assist with preparing meals, juicing, and helping with household tasks as well. There is no shame in asking for support during this time. It can take a village to raise a child AND to support a healing Mama.
Alternatively, if you feel that having family members around you during the first few weeks will add to your stress load as a new mom trying to navigate motherhood, you can set firm boundaries ahead of time on when you would like visitors. We have heard from some moms that having family stay with them right after birth added to their work and stress loads as they felt they were hosting. If this is the case for you, please do not feel guilty asking for privacy and time for personal healing and bonding. Take the time you need. A good technique to bring in when family and friends offer support is to delegate specific tasks. It can be the case that others often want to support us but simply do not know how. Asking if someone is comfortable helping to prepare meals, juices, fold laundry, or run errands can take the load off of you and allow for others to feel useful and like they are really contributing. Those that care for us will be happy to help!
7. Hiring Emotional Support Professionals
Sometimes friends, family, and self-care are not the whole solution when dealing with mental health struggles that can occur from traumatic birth experiences or the stress that can come with being a new mom. Additional help is always available, and friends and family can help you take the steps you need to reach out to a trusted professional. In our Pregnancy Support Package, we work with Moms at every stage of their pregnancy, including when trying to conceive and also postpartum. If you would like additional support, I am happy to work with you after birth as this is my area of expertise.
In my practice, I understand that talk therapy is not always preferred due to the emotional strain this can bring up.Instead, I find clients really enjoy and benefit from the additional emotional healing work of EFT tapping (tapping solution practitioner), and Medical Medium meditations.
Remember you will get through this time, it is temporary, and your body CAN heal. Allow yourself to process what you feel, stay hydrated, reach for those snacks, ask for help, and talk to your practitioner about bringing in additional healing tools. You got this, Mama!
If you are a new mom looking for additional support with other moms, we have our most popular Empowered Moms course starting next Monday, May 22nd that focuses on baby’s first foods and children’s health at different ages and stages of development. And later this year, we will be launching a brand new course, Empowered Birth. Email [email protected] to be placed on our waitlist.
