Postpartum Stress: Keys To Combat It
After delivery, it is normal to feel stressed, as there has been a great change in your life as a result of the arrival of your baby. 24 hours a day are dedicated to the care and protection of that little one, therefore, postpartum stress can appear, and will decrease as we control the situation and get to know our child better.
In this article we are going to see some keys to combat this stress and, thus, feel better during that process. Do you want to know what you can do to combat postpartum stress? Continue reading.
Postpartum stress: what to do?
When we are parents for the first time, many phrases come to our mind, we feel lost, we do not know if we will do it well or not … Some phrases that may cross your mind are:
- “I am very overwhelmed or overwhelmed.”
- “I don’t know if I’m going to know how to do this.”
- “I need to be able to rest for more than two hours.”
- “I only think about the baby and that he is well.”
Don’t worry, all of these types of thoughts are normal during this time you’re going through, so don’t feel bad at all for thinking these things.
Lack of sleep due to being aware of the baby, not knowing if we are doing well or not taking care of the child, etc., produces mood swings and makes us feel more irritable and physically and mentally exhausted.
Keys to combat postpartum stress
If you just gave birth and are familiar with these symptoms, you may be experiencing postpartum stress. Therefore, below, we talk about some keys to improve these symptoms.
Sleep when baby does
Don’t wait for the moment to come; take advantage of every moment that the baby rests to do it yourself. And, in some moments, take advantage of the fact that the father is with you and take turns: while you rest, that he is aware of the child, and vice versa.
Have communication with your partner
It is important that you talk and be honest about how you feel, how you are carrying it, and about the feelings about the baby, because surely your partner will be feeling things very similar to you, and it is important that you have those moments of intimacy to combat the postpartum stress. Do not stop doing it!
Healthy nutrition
It is very important that you do not neglect your diet. Childbirth, breastfeeding, taking care of the baby … All this involves a great effort for the body to regain the physical condition of before. Therefore, a healthy diet will provide you with enough energy for faster physical recovery. Keep in mind that it is convenient to skip any of the five meals that you have to do.
Avoid distressing to combat postpartum stress
Sometimes the baby does not want to eat, sleep, or starts crying for no reason. This does not mean that something is wrong, they are just babies and sometimes they don’t do things when they should.
Accept the help they give you
You don’t have to do it all; Delegate certain tasks to someone else to help you be a little less stressed. If your family, your friends or your partner want to help you, do not deny that help. You have to think of yourself to combat postpartum stress. If you want to cover it all, what you will do is make the situation worse.
Don’t put your life aside to combat postpartum stress
Take advantage of a few moments leaving the baby in the care of a family member or the father and go out to go shopping or have a coffee with a friend. It is also important that you have little moments for yourself; It is essential to disconnect, even for a short time, as it will help you relax.
Take care of your mood
The baby is sensitive to your mood; If you feel tense or nervous, the little one will be too. So try to prevent your child from feeling the stress that you are feeling. Try to relax so that the little one sees you calm and he is too.
Organize visits
When you receive visitors, you do not have to feel stressed, but the other way around. Try to organize the visits. How?
- If you are going to visit a family member, be clear about how long you want to be so that it is not exhausting for you and your baby.
- If you are going to receive the visit, organize it on the day that suits you. Always try to visit small groups, so that there are not many people. Another thing you can do is advise visitors that you and your baby need to rest and that, therefore, they will not be able to stay long.
About postpartum stress
If, despite carrying out these keys to combat postpartum stress, you do not see that you are improving, it is essential that you go to your doctor to find out if this stress may come from an external cause. For example, some lack of vitamin, or something else.
However, we hope that these keys will be useful to you and you will be able to reduce that stress situation. You can do it all!
