“What Every New Mom Should Know About Postpartum Emotions”. “Support, Awareness, and Healing for Moms Facing Mood Disorders”. “Separating Baby Blues from Postpartum Depression—And When to Get Help”

Having a newborn home may be one of the most exciting occasions in a woman’s life, but for many, the experience is not always that blissful. Liisa Hantsoo, Ph.D. of the Johns Hopkins Center for Women’s Reproductive Mental Health, discusses what women should know about baby blues, postpartum depression, and postpartum psychosis.

The Baby Blues

Actually, many first-time mothers will experience baby blues. These are hormonal changes that induce anxiety, weeping, and restlessness throughout the first two weeks after giving birth. The baby blues, also known as postpartum blues, are a moderate and transitory kind of sadness that resolves after hormone levels return to normal.

Almost every new mother—up to 85 percent—will feel the postpartum blues. You may be pleased one moment and overwhelmed and weeping the next.

“No mommy is delighted all the time,” Hantsoo adds. “It’s natural to feel irritated and even have to put the baby down sometimes.”

Who is at Risk for After childbirth Depressive Symptoms

The signs of postpartum depression can grow more common or severe in some individuals. Here are several factors:

Anxiety or mood disorders have previously existed: Those with bipolar illness, sadness, or anxiousness are 30% to 35% more likely to experience postpartum depression. Similarly, moms who have had depressive symptoms during previous deliveries are more likely to experience them again.

Family history: Individuals whose family members that were diagnosed with postpartum mood disorders are more likely to develop them too.

Genetics: Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Center for Reproductive Psychiatry discovered epigenetic biomarkers — changes in gene activity — that might identify who is most likely to develop postpartum depression.

Postpartum Depression Symptoms

The indications and symptoms of postpartum depression are:

Anxiety
Sadness
Anger and irritation.
Problems sleeping
Intrusive thoughts (including ideas of hurting the baby)

If the symptoms are strong or linger longer than two weeks, a new mother might be scared of a postpartum mood disorder, such as postpartum depression. Women who experienced depression or anxiety prior giving birth are at a higher risk.

“People tend conceive about depressive disorders as despair, but that’s not always the case,” explains Hantsoo. “Particularly in the postpartum period, there’s plenty of stress and irritation, with little to no sleep, which is an immense risk factor for postpartum depression.”

Sleeping badly with a newborn is not always a sign of sadness, but it can exacerbate postpartum depression symptoms.

Postpartum Psychosis: A Rare Mental Health Emergency

The more the lack of therapy there is , the longer the postpartum depression symptoms can lasts or even for months or even years. One research found that 25% of individuals were still depressed three years after their infants were born. This is just one additional reason why immediate evaluation and treatment are suggested.

Postpartum Psychosis is an uncommon mental health emergency.
Whereas postpartum depression is rather frequent, postpartum psychosis is a very unusual illness that affects about 0.1% of new moms. This figure climbs to 30% for moms with bipolar illness. Symptoms of postpartum psychosis are:

• Confusion and cognitive impairment may come and go.
• Coming in and out of awareness.
• Very chaotic behavior
• Hallucinations or delusions.

Regardless of whether you don’t have a history of mental disorders, you should not dismiss these signs. “Postpartum psychosis may arise in women with no previous history of psychiatric illness,” Hantsoo explains.

She emphasizes that postpartum psychosis is a mental emergency that requires prompt medical intervention due to the significant risk of suicide and injury to the infant.

The gold standard therapy for postpartum psychosis consists of both lithium (a mood stabilizer) and an antipsychotic drug. With these drugs, a doctor should monitor the infant to ensure that nursing is safe.

Treating Postpartum Mood Disorders

The most crucial information to be aware of about postpartum mood disorders is that they are quite curable and should not make a new mother feel guilty. Even among the most dire cases of postpartum psychosis, a recent research found that 98% of patients improved with therapy.

Antidepressant medicines are used to treat postpartum depression, and there is solid evidence that they are safe for breastfeeding.

Women Respond to Medications Differently

Standeven points out that a corpus of scientific research on the treatment of women demonstrates that females respond differently to medicine than male animals (and humans), who have traditionally made up the majority of drug study participants.

Furthermore, she claims that when it comes to treating mental health issues like depression, pregnancy, perimenopause and other hormonal changes might reduce the efficacy of some treatments and doses.

Hormone variations can affect how the body responds to medicines, particularly the pace at which pharmaceuticals are filtered by the kidneys. Some mood stabilizers’ effectiveness can be influenced by estrogen levels. “More research on pregnancy’s impact on pharmacokinetics can help practitioners prescribe medications more effectively,” according to Hantsoo.

Brexanolone for postpartum depression.

Brexanolone was the first medicine developed specifically to treat postpartum depression. It is administered as an infusion in a clinic or hospital over the course of two or three days, with close monitoring since it might induce rapid loss of consciousness in certain patients. The FDA authorized brexanolone in 2019.

This medication is a synthetic form of allopregnanolone, a natural progesterone byproduct or metabolite. When a baby is ready to be born, the mother’s progesterone levels peak. immediately as the baby is born, the level of this hormone drops dramatically. Because progesterone affects on the brain and helps balance mood, research has linked this abrupt decline to postpartum depression.

Brexanolone infusion helps alleviate the anguish, sorrow, and anxiety associated with postpartum depression in some persons.

Preventing Postnatal Mood Disorders

Hantsoo claims that despite the fact that postpartum mental problems are growing more widespread, there aren’t enough research looking into how to avoid them. For example, one study found that moms who learnt calming and sleep-promoting techniques for their kids had reduced rates of postpartum depression. Another study found that taking an antidepressant immediately after giving birth might help reduce mood swings in women who had previously experienced postpartum depression.

Sleep is another important factor in helping to prevent mood problems.

“If I see a woman who’s vulnerable to postpartum depression, I recommend that she come in with her partner so we can make a proactive plan for sleep,” adds the doctor. Proper sleep can make a significant difference in avoiding a mood problem. Getting at least four hours of sleep may require taking turns feeding or having the spouse handle everything except breastfeeding.

She believes the major lesson she wants moms to receive is that women should not be frightened to seek assistance.

“We ought to get rid of the stigma of mental illness, especially for new mothers, because it does respond to treatment,” she shares.

Reproductive Psychiatry: Assisting Women’s Mental Health.

Reproductive psychiatry is the research and treatment of mental illnesses associated with reproductive changes such as pregnancy, childbirth, and menopause. These shifts can affect a woman’s hormone levels as well as her function in her family and society.

Specialized training in this crucial component of women’s health offers hope for faster, more definitive diagnosis, effective treatments, and stigma reduction.

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Citation & Reference:

Baby blues and postpartum depression: mood disorders and pregnancy (2025).