Having a baby takes a toll on a woman physically and mentally and many women are not sure how to react to certain postpartum issues, including exercise, hormones and emotions. Many women are not even sure how soon after giving birth they should start to exercise to get their pre-pregnancy body back. Hopefully the information contained within will help them understand what is happening during this wonderful and occasionally stressful time in their lives.
Postpartum Exercise: Just What The Doctor Ordered
Most women can start doing postpartum exercises as soon as their doctor says they are able. This could be anywhere from the day after giving birth to six weeks later if the they have a C-section. As long as they start slowly and allow their bodies time to heal, exercising is a good way to restore ones energy and refresh their spirit and mind. Kegel exercises help strengthen the pelvic floor and are probably the best exercises to begin with. They will help the body in the prevention of incontinence and prolapse.
Mothers who are nursing should not change their diet to go along with their postpartum exercises. It is better for them to have an extra five pounds on their bodies so that their milk does not dry up prematurely. If the mother is not nursing then they will want to lose the weight gradually, not more than about one or two pounds per week. This will keep them from losing bone density. It will keep your metabolism moving and help your circulation.
Postpartum exercise does not cause a nursing mother's milk to decrease. The only thing it will do is help the mother lose the weight she gained during pregnancy. However, there have been indications that postpartum exercise will cause a change in the taste of the mother's milk because of the production of lactic acid.
To avoid rejection of the milk by the baby, mothers should feed or pump their milk before exercising, or wait at least an hour after exercise before nursing. The hour between exercise and nursing will aloe the mother's milk to return to its normal taste and then there is no chance of the back rejecting it.
In today's market there are many new and exciting work out equipment available for the new mother's to incorporate into their work out routine. If they have done Pilates in the past, they can substitute their baby for the Pilates equipment in the appropriate exercises, such as plies. Otherwise, a mat or soft surface and a place for the baby to sit and watch - or sleep - are all that is needed.
Postpartum workouts during the first week after birth should be done easy and only require the stretching, tensing, and releasing of muscles. Also, mothers who are up to it and want to get outdoors can add a walk to their routine, which will help boost their aerobic activity and get the blood pumping. The combination of fresh air and moving about will invigorate the mother and help her along in her exercising routine.
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2009/08/18
Information on Postpartum Depression
Postpartum depression can make you feel restless, anxious, fatigued and worthless. Some new moms worry they will hurt themselves or their babies. Unlike the "baby blues," postpartum depression does not go away quickly. Very rarely, new moms develop something even more serious. They may stop eating, have trouble sleeping and become frantic or paranoid. Women with this condition usually need to be hospitalized.
The birth of a baby can trigger a jumble of powerful emotions, from excitement and joy to fear and anxiety. But it can also result in something you might not expect — depression. Experiencing depression after childbirth isn't a character flaw or a weakness. Sometimes it's simply part of giving birth. If you're depressed, prompt treatment can help you manage your symptoms — and enjoy your baby.
Depression can be described as feeling sad, blue, unhappy, miserable, or down in the dumps. Most of us feel this way at one time or another for short periods. But true clinical depression is a mood disorder in which feelings of sadness, loss, anger, or frustration interfere with everyday life for an extended time. Depression can be mild, moderate, or severe. The degree of depression, which your doctor can determine, influences how you are treated.
Physical changes after childbirth, a dramatic drop in estrogen and progesterone may trigger depression. The hormones produced by your thyroid gland also may drop sharply — which can leave you feeling tired, sluggish and depressed. Changes in your blood volume, blood pressure, immune system and metabolism can lead to fatigue and mood swings.
It's important to know the difference between normal postpartum emotional changes and ones that signal a need for further support. It's not just what you're feeling that indicates something may be amiss, but the frequency, intensity, and duration of those feelings. In other words, many new mothers feel sad and anxious periodically during the first few months after childbirth. But if you're crying all day for several days in a row or are having panic attacks, contact your doctor or midwife.
Postpartum depression is caused by changes in hormones and can run in families. Women with severe premenstrual syndrome are more likely to suffer from postpartum depression. Mild or moderate depression, either postpartum or otherwise, can be treated with medication or with psychotherapy, or, particularly for women with severe cases, a combination of the two. Women who have postpartum depression love their children but may be convinced that they're not able to be good mothers.
Postpartum depression can begin at any time within the first three months after delivery. It can seriously threaten both the woman and her baby. Since the mother is seriously ill, she may not be able to care for her baby as she would if she were well. The disease may make it hard for the mother to breastfeed or bond with her baby. For these reasons, postpartum depression is a threat to newborns.
During the postpartum period, up to 85% of women experience some type of mood disturbance. For most women, symptoms are transient and relatively mild (ie, postpartum blues); however, 10-15% of women experience a more disabling and persistent form of mood disturbance (eg, postpartum depression, postpartum psychosis).
Postpartum psychiatric illness was initially conceptualized as a group of disorders specifically linked to pregnancy and childbirth and thus was considered diagnostically distinct from other types of psychiatric illness. More recent evidence suggests that postpartum psychiatric illness is virtually indistinguishable from psychiatric disorders that occur at other times during a woman's life.
The birth of a baby can trigger a jumble of powerful emotions, from excitement and joy to fear and anxiety. But it can also result in something you might not expect — depression. Experiencing depression after childbirth isn't a character flaw or a weakness. Sometimes it's simply part of giving birth. If you're depressed, prompt treatment can help you manage your symptoms — and enjoy your baby.
Depression can be described as feeling sad, blue, unhappy, miserable, or down in the dumps. Most of us feel this way at one time or another for short periods. But true clinical depression is a mood disorder in which feelings of sadness, loss, anger, or frustration interfere with everyday life for an extended time. Depression can be mild, moderate, or severe. The degree of depression, which your doctor can determine, influences how you are treated.
Physical changes after childbirth, a dramatic drop in estrogen and progesterone may trigger depression. The hormones produced by your thyroid gland also may drop sharply — which can leave you feeling tired, sluggish and depressed. Changes in your blood volume, blood pressure, immune system and metabolism can lead to fatigue and mood swings.
It's important to know the difference between normal postpartum emotional changes and ones that signal a need for further support. It's not just what you're feeling that indicates something may be amiss, but the frequency, intensity, and duration of those feelings. In other words, many new mothers feel sad and anxious periodically during the first few months after childbirth. But if you're crying all day for several days in a row or are having panic attacks, contact your doctor or midwife.
Postpartum depression is caused by changes in hormones and can run in families. Women with severe premenstrual syndrome are more likely to suffer from postpartum depression. Mild or moderate depression, either postpartum or otherwise, can be treated with medication or with psychotherapy, or, particularly for women with severe cases, a combination of the two. Women who have postpartum depression love their children but may be convinced that they're not able to be good mothers.
Postpartum depression can begin at any time within the first three months after delivery. It can seriously threaten both the woman and her baby. Since the mother is seriously ill, she may not be able to care for her baby as she would if she were well. The disease may make it hard for the mother to breastfeed or bond with her baby. For these reasons, postpartum depression is a threat to newborns.
During the postpartum period, up to 85% of women experience some type of mood disturbance. For most women, symptoms are transient and relatively mild (ie, postpartum blues); however, 10-15% of women experience a more disabling and persistent form of mood disturbance (eg, postpartum depression, postpartum psychosis).
Postpartum psychiatric illness was initially conceptualized as a group of disorders specifically linked to pregnancy and childbirth and thus was considered diagnostically distinct from other types of psychiatric illness. More recent evidence suggests that postpartum psychiatric illness is virtually indistinguishable from psychiatric disorders that occur at other times during a woman's life.
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