Puerperal dysphoria is an emotional state caused by hormonal changes that can appear during the puerperium and which is distinguished from postpartum depression, as a psychiatric/psychological disorder. The most frequent symptoms are sadness, crying, irritability, tiredness, insecurity, difficulty concentrating and changes in appetite and may appear in the first three days after delivery and last for two weeks.
Right after childbirth, the woman may experience an emotional difficulty in being able to enjoy the feeling of love she feels for her child. This difficulty is often surprising to the woman herself and can cause her internal conflict. If, on the one hand, you feel a lot of love for your child and this love should put you in a state of exaltation, on the other there is the social expectation for this to happen. This duality between what was expected and what actually happens can cause an impediment to sharing and talking about an emotional state, which despite not being well understood in the mind, is physiologically normal and fleeting.
Physical fatigue resulting from childbirth and possible sleep deprivation are factors that can aggravate the symptoms of puerperal dyspnea.
The good news is that this hormonal change is temporary, it requires acceptance and understanding from the mother towards herself, and from the family towards the mother.
It is advisable for the mother to find moments to share both the emotions and all the tasks involved in caring for her new baby.
There are many women who feel a strong desire to isolate themselves with their baby or with their family in order to be able to understand how they feel, physically recover and get to know their newborn. So it is increasingly frequent to have more postpartum collection, including the family. The father can assume this role of regulator and intermediary between family and friends and mother and baby.
At Tree of Life, we follow up according to the mother's desire without interfering in the mother's and family's decisions, in the sense of supporting and helping.
Sources:
. Psychotherapist Isabel Gomes
. RISK FACTORS FOR PUERPERAL BLUES: AN INTEGRATIVE REVIEW
RISK FACTORS FOR POSTPARTUM BLUES: AN INTEGRATIVE REVIEW
Marília Ambrósio Cavalcante Leitão Maria Eduarda Camelo Calado Marcos Reis Gonçalves
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