Postpartum Anxiety in the Fourth Trimester

I've shared a lot on pregnancy and postpartum depression (PPD), but another common mental health challenge for new parents is pregnancy and/or postpartum anxiety (PPA).

Anxiety during and after pregnancy

Approximately 10 percent of postpartum women develop anxiety – sometimes it's on it's own, other times it's alongside postpartum depression. Symptoms can include any or all of the following:¹

• Constant worry
• Racing thoughts
• Inability to sleep or disruptive sleep patterns
• Increase or decrease in appetite
• Restlessness
• Physical symptoms such as diziness, hot flashes and/or nausea

After the baby arrives

It's important to note that PPD and PPA can affect either parent, not just the birthing parent, although the prevalence is typically higher in the birthing parent as the massive changes in hormones, body and mind greatly impact these things.

To be honest, postpartum anxiety is a lot like regular anxiety, it just happens once the baby arrives. I'll share a few things I was really anxious about when my daughter was born.

Things I was anxious about after giving birth

Temperature

I had read on some blog online that room temperature for a baby should be 68-72 degrees. We had just moved into a new house 2 weeks before my daughter arrived, and the whole place was controlled by 1 thermostat, which didn't feel accurate.

The first few nights we were at home I obsessed over if the baby was too hot or too cold, how many layers she should be dressed in, what the thermostat said, and if she was safe. I even bought a separate device to monitor room temperature to make sure it stayed within the "appropriate range."

Now – checking this once or twice a day might've been normal, but the amount I thought about it definitely constituted consistent anxiety.

Eating

I mentioned in another article that my daughter was born early and with a small mouth, she struggled to nurse. I desperately wanted to nurse my daughter, but feedings went so much smoother with a bottle.

I ended up exclusively pumping after 7 weeks of triple feeding, but for those 7 weeks every "mealtime" or time to feed my baby was filled with anxiety of if she was getting enough milk, if she was crying how to sooth her, if I was crying how to soothe myself.

Taking her places

Although we didn't go many places in the newborn days besides outside for short walks, I had major anxiety about taking my baby to the store. Even in the carseat or baby-wearing her, I was terribly afraid something was going to go wrong and someone would steal her.

Coping with anxiety and postpartum depression

As you can see, these are real examples of worries a new parent might have, but a parent with PPA may take them to an extreme, obsessing over them or constantly thinking about them, worrying they are parenting wrong or that their baby is in danger when in truth everything is going to be okay.

My postpartum anxiety took a few months to shift back to my regular levels of anxiety pre-baby, and during that time I worked with both a mental health professional (a counselor) and a psychiatrist (for medication that was safe and compatible with breastfeeding).