What Contributes to Postpartum Anxiety?
Expectant mothers often hear endless warnings about sleepless nights and are flooded with advice from well-meaning friends and family. But how many new mothers have a strong understanding of something called postpartum anxiety? About 20 percent of women will experience this condition after giving birth, but there is a profound lack of awareness surrounding it.
It’s no wonder anxiety can take hold—you're suddenly responsible for a tiny human who is entirely dependent on you, at a time when you may feel more exhausted, emotional, and overwhelmed than ever before. The combination of physical recovery, hormonal shifts, and the weight of new responsibilities can easily cause anxious thoughts to spiral.
Let’s take a closer look at what postpartum anxiety really feels like and why it's so important to recognize it.
What Does Postpartum Anxiety Look and Feel Like?
As touched on above, there are plenty of reasons to feel stressed after childbirth. This can result in traditional signs of anxiety, e.g. shortness of breath, sleep issues, loss of concentration, sweating, trembling, rapid heart rate, and more. However, the symptoms of postpartum anxiety are more intense and pervasive.
For example, you may experience intrusive thoughts about the well-being of your baby. This can make you feel like you need to control your surroundings and circumstances. You’ll check on your baby constantly and become exhausted from all this hyper-vigilance. New mothers with postpartum anxiety may refuse to be separated from their newborns and choose to isolate from outsiders. Conversely, postpartum anxiety can lead to a sense of detachment, where a mother feels so besieged by responsibilities and fears that they have trouble bonding with the baby.
What Contributes to Postpartum Anxiety?
During pregnancy, hormones shift in a major way. However, upon giving birth, this shift starts to reverse itself. While this biological rollercoaster unfolds, you're also navigating a cascade of emotional and environmental stressors:
Lack of sleep
Changes in how your body looks and feels
Being inundated with messages, notifications, and visits
All of life’s patterns and rhythms have been altered
It feels as if your obligations and responsibilities have quadrupled
This whirlwind of physical, emotional, and lifestyle changes can easily overwhelm your nervous system. When your mind and body are already taxed, it becomes harder to process anxiety in a healthy way. Therefore, you get stuck in a stress response (fight, flight, freeze, or fawn) and everything starts to look and feel like a potential threat.
How Can Postpartum Anxiety Cause Confusion?
A certain level of stress is expected after having a baby, which makes it all too easy for postpartum anxiety to be brushed off as "normal." Unfortunately, this can lead to new mothers feeling dismissed—even by medical professionals.
To complicate matters further, postpartum anxiety is often confused with postpartum depression. While the two conditions can share overlapping symptoms, they’re not the same—and mislabeling them can leave mothers feeling misunderstood and unsupported. If you’re experiencing something that feels off, trust your instincts. Consider keeping a journal to track your thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. This not only helps you better understand your experience, but it can also be a valuable tool when seeking help or advocating for your mental health.
What to Do If You Feel Postpartum Anxiety Might Be Present
Remember, postpartum anxiety can emerge even months after childbirth. So, if the signs discussed above sound familiar, it’s time to get a professional opinion. Postpartum anxiety impacts two lives and must not be allowed to “run its own course.”
The good news is that postpartum anxiety can be managed and eventually eased with the help of a mental health professional. Reach out today to learn more about women’s counseling and set up your first session.
