Pregnancy and Infants' Illness Archives

postpartum joy: why?

hi dr. stoll, thank you so much for this bulletin board. i have a question not about a problem, but about a happy change. when i gave birth to my son three and a half years ago (drug-free labor), i suffered from a very long postpartum depression, almost 2 years, when i finally sought counseling and took seldane for half a year. even after that i felt tired all the time and not terribly happy: in sum, i did not feel like myself. i tried making changes as per your recommendations on this bulletin board, but had difficulty maintaining them.

2 months ago i gave birth to my daughter. the pregnancy went smoothly, though generally i felt exhausted, unhappy, and scared of another postpartum depression. i did not exercise regularly (but i'm not a couch potato, certainly not with a 3 year old!), i did not follow a perfect diet (but i generally eat healthy foods), nor did i meditate. i did prepare for labor during the ninth month by visualizing it to be calm and smooth. and it was!-- no drugs, no stitches, and i was calm and excited to see my daughter... well, two weeks after the birth i got such a burst of energy and it hasn't left me. i feel like myself again!

i believe that certain emotional issues were resolved through her birth, but i'm also wondering if after my first pregnancy i may have had a hormonal imbalance that changed after the second pregnancy. my midwife was unable to offer an explanation. what do you think?

thanks, denise

Re: postpartum joy: why? (Archive in pregnancy.)