Summer doesn’t provide a break from postpartum mental health issues
With its longer sun-drenched days, summer is a lively season full of vacations, pool time, ice cream trucks, and other fun activities. But for new moms experiencing postpartum anxiety or depression, summer’s days can feel anything but joyous.
Feelings of loneliness from long periods indoors and the fear of missing out brought on by social media posts are to blame, says Kelly San Miguel, MD, an obstetrician-gynecologist with Bon Secours’ Carolina Women’s Health.
“We live in South Carolina, and summer is hot. You don’t want to expose your baby to extreme heat, so naturally you get that feeling of being trapped inside. That can be a little bit isolating,” she says, adding that the heat also can lead to increased stress and irritability.
Seeing other people’s social media posts about enjoying summer events or going on vacation “and not having to do the normal things that any new mother has to do,” San Miguel says, “heightens that feeling of loneliness, abandonment, and being stuck inside with the constraints of a baby that’s eating every two hours.”
A lack of sleep compounds these feelings and is “one of the biggest triggers for depression that I see with a lot of my patients,” she adds.
Different than the hormone shift-induced “baby blues”–most new moms get them within the first two weeks post-birth, but they resolve on their own–postpartum depression is more severe and long-lasting. It can develop within first few weeks or even up to one year after you deliver.
“It’s feelings of sadness, anxiety, kind of the loss of interest and enjoyment in daily activities, hopelessness, lack of motivation, poor
concentration, and trouble sleeping,” San Miguel says, adding that it affects one in five women.
Getting outside during cooler parts of the day, participating in indoor kid-friendly activities, and finding fellow moms who you can talk to about your baby’s routines and milestones can help you boost your mental health as a new mom, she says.
It’s also important to manage your expectations and to have a support system. “As women, we tend to think we can do it all. While we can do a lot, after having a baby don’t feel bad about asking for help. It could be as simple as having someone come over and help you with chores. Then you can just focus on your recovery and your baby,” San Miguel says.
It’s best to see your OBGYN if you experience, or if your family and friends notice, any signs of postpartum depression. “When you have postpartum depression, that’s when we start thinking about treatment,” San Miguel says, adding that treatment “doesn’t always mean medication. Sometimes it means therapy or connecting people to resources locally or nationally.”
In the Upstate, that includes Reproductive Journey Counseling & Support that provides virtual and in-person therapy, as well as MUSC Health’s Mom’s IMPACTT. The mental health and substance use disorder resource and referral program provides telemedicine for women who are pregnant or within 12 months postpartum and any pregnancy and postpartum-focused health care providers.
