Everything you need to know about baby blues!

Postpartum Blues or Baby Blues - is a special emotional state, composed of a constellation of symptoms, which appears in the first 3-5 days immediately after the birth of the baby, in 50-80% of cases and which disappears physiologically in 10-12 days.

New mom can feel

•  Changing mood, sadness
•  Anxiety, irritability, tears
•  Decreased ability to concentrate
•  Sleeping disorders

The reasons are numerous:

•  decrease in estrogen hormones
•  increased levels of oxytocin (the hormone that triggers contractions during labor and milk ejection during breastfeeding) and prolactin in the blood
•  decrease in dopamine levels immediately after birth
•  bodily changes: flabby abdomen, bleeding, perineal pain or at the level of the episiotomy or cesarean scar, etc.

To all this are added numerous and intense emotions: the feeling that the pregnancy is over, that this unique, deep, fusional connection ends, "the cord is cut", the feeling of responsibility towards this newborn so small, so fragile, the difficulty to be separated from her baby or even for a few hours in the maternity ward, etc.

Some women talk about the feeling of "missing" the birth of the baby when during a cesarean, they did not see / feel the baby immediately, did not have that unique skin-to-skin contact immediately after birth, "failure" that made them difficult. the road to their baby and their role as mothers.

So in a state of physical and mental illness, in a period invested socially as happiness and full joy, Lauza feels guilty for her sadness, her tears, and does not know how to cope with the feelings that invade her. Although it can be a source of upset for the lauza and of concern for the family, baby-Blues is a natural stage, of limited duration. Experts point to the very beneficial function of baby blues, which allows the mother to move from one stage to another, facilitating attachment to her baby, through what Winnicot called the "primary maternal concern." During this period, the mother enters a kind of "healthy madness", a state of passion for her baby and hypersensitivity that allows her to be sensitive to the needs of her baby, meeting his needs, respecting him a continuum of existence, a smooth transition from intrauterine life to the stage in the arms, and having a protective function against external and internal exciters that invade the newborn.

"The period immediately after birth is the most impressive period spent outside the mother's body. What the baby encounters is what he understands as the nature of life. .... The change in the total hospitality of the uterus is enormous, and the baby comes ready for the great leap from the womb to its place in the arms. For what did not come prepared is an even greater leap of any kind, much less for one in nothing, a non-life, a basket of textiles or a plastic crib without movement, sound, smell, or sensation. of life. The violent rupture of the mother-child continuum, so strongly outlined during the phases spent in the womb, is understandable that it is left with depression in the mother, as well as in agony in the baby.

Every nerve end under his freshly exposed skin longs for the expected hug, his whole being tends to be carried in his arms. ” Jean Liedloff

Baby blues should not be confused with postpartum depression, whose symptoms are more intense, more acute, and longer lasting.

The mother can more easily overcome this period when she receives the support of those around her, a mother, a grandmother, a nanny who can take over from the domestic tasks, can take care of her, so that she is well fed and can rest. Of great importance is the empathic attitude, acceptance, support and content on the part of the partner, which validates the new mother in the role of mother.

And last but not least, the exchange of experiences with other mothers, by participating in a support group for new mothers can help young mothers during this period.