How to Reduce the Stress of New Motherhood

A woman becomes an entirely different person as regards her appearance, attitudes, social status and responsibilities after childbirth. All these biological- psychological – social changes make a definite impact on the mental health of the mother.

In the first few weeks after birth, majority (75-85%) of mothers experience moodiness. They become morose, tired and worry excessively. These are called ’Blues’ and go away in 1 – 2 weeks’ time. As it is so common and the mother recovers quickly on her own, Blues is regarded as a mild moodiness which does not need medical treatment.

Sometimes, the mother becomes more and more disturbed emotionally and is unable to recover. She may feel very sad, tried, worried about trival things and unable to sleep restfully. In some cases she may appear abnormally cheerful, active and restless. In the most serious instances the mother becomes either still like a stature or excited to the point of violence. She may become suspicious and have false beliefs or hear voices. In all these situations, the mother is unable to care for herself and her newborn. There is a real danger that the mother may harm herself or her baby. Women who have had a pervious episode of mental disorder, a difficult pregnancy or delivery and do not have much support at home are more prone to such disorders.  All these conditions require urgent care of a qualified psychiatrist.

Even the mildest emotional problems can affect the capacity of mother to care for herself and her baby. It is possible that other family members help the mother in feeding or caring for the baby and take care of the mother as well. But ‘emotional nourishment’ can be provided only by the mother. Hence, the most disastrous consequence of emotional problem after deliver is that it affects the mother-baby bonding and attachment. This can lead to lot of emotional and behavioral problems in the child and dissatisfaction with motherhood.

Every woman must cultivate her mental health along with her physical health right from the time she starts planning for a baby. A woman with prior mental illness should make a proper plan about her mental health care during pregnancy and delivery. Women should get proper diet, rest and help in managing the household and employment during this time. All pregnant women and mothers should be screened for mental disorders. The couple can avail of counseling if they feel any mental distress or even doubts.

In the event that the mother suffers mental illness after delivery, urgent psychiatric treatment should be provided. It is of utmost importance that the mother recovers as early as possible and starts to bond with the baby. Many safe medications are available for use. Electroconvulsive treatment is often prescribed in this phase as it gives almost instant results and is perfectly safe.

The mother-child bond is the starting point of a new relationship. The mother’s mental health should be safe guarded to ensure a strong bond and a healthy relationship. 

Take a Break

Sometimes your mind might scream enough please give me a break. It may not say this literally, but there will be many obvious physical signs like fatigue, inability to concentrate, feeling low, feeling overwhelmed, irritable. When you feel all these signs, it means your mind is being over worked, perhaps speeding away. 

Can we get away from the speed that our lives bring in? Our life is organized by seconds, sometimes you need to catch 7:00 am train or to reach your office earlier or exact 9.00 am to swipe your employee card at the office. All things geared to keep you on schedule, which sometimes we can’t run away from as they keep our home fires burning.

But we can surely relax for at least 5 to 10 minutes during our hard work day. And we need to do this without feeling guilty and by mentally saying to ourselves my 5 minute break is coming up and I am going to take it. This is applicable whether you work outside or at home and for both adults and children. For children it is necessary to take a break or a time out when they feel angry or upset.  

Taking short breaks in between the long work hours make one more productive. If you have a lunch hour coming up, please take this break away from your desk along with your friends and colleagues. Research suggests that when people skip their lunch breaks, they become tired faster and thus become less happy and enthused about their work. According to a research survey of 1,000 adults done in UK by BUPA, an international insurance company, companies in the UK lose nearly £50 mn/day, when employees don’t take break from their work as they become tired.

Thus it makes more sense for employers to encourage their employees to take these short breaks. It would be incorrect for bosses to think, that they are getting more work done when their team work without breaks. All employers need to encourage their employees to take a break to reduce the work stress to improve worker efficiencies. 

Thinks you need to do when you decide to take a short break.

• Take a short nap.
• Go for a small walk in the sun.
• Drink your quota of water while doing a puzzle etc.
• Go chat with your friend, neighbor, and colleague.
• Read a page of your favorite book, magazine or any articles or blogs online.
• Clean up your work drawer and desk.
• Surf the web, check something interesting. 

There is no hard and fast rule on how to take your break. The goal should be to relax yourself to charge your mind positively. While short breaks calms an overworked mind during the day and a full day break or a short holiday can calm your mind and body. However, many people take their work along on a holiday as they are insecure about their jobs, thus defeating the very purpose of taking time out and de-stressing. While, this could be justified, it is still important to make time for yourself and spend time with family and friends.

Balance is the key to have a happy and successful life. Taking breaks helps us build this balance and allow us to pursue our dreams more efficiently and give a better perspective about things. So next time when you get a chance to take  a break, take it.