Postpartum depression is a serious illness, that can last for months after childbirth, miscarriage and stillbirth. Symptoms of postpartum depression include deep sadness, feelings of hopelessness, loss of appetite, sleep problems, extreme fatigue, difficulty to concentrate and even fatal thoughts. You may also find yourself unable to care for your newborn.

Unlike baby blues, which many women experience in the first couple of weeks after childbirth, postpartum depression can last for months. With baby blues, you may have trouble sleeping and feel moody, teary, and overwhelmed, but you will likely have these feelings along with being happy about your baby.

In rare cases, a severe form of depression called postpartum psychosis may develop after childbirth. Symptoms of postpartum psychosis may include strange behavior and hearing things that are not there. A women suffering postpartum psychosis may harm herself or her baby or others and needs immediate treatment.

It’s very important to get treatment for depression. The sooner you get treated, the sooner you’ll feel better and enjoy your baby.

“Some emotional roller coasters are natural and expected after childbirth, even if your baby sleeps like an angel and you truly love your visiting in-laws.”

About 70% of new mothers experience some form or another of baby blues. These feelings are caused by the sudden change in hormonal balance after childbirth. Other factors that may trigger this phenomenon include feeling of anxiety stemming from the sudden responsibility and tremendous task of caring for a newborn, fatigue and lack of sleep every new parent experiences, even frustration over breastfeeding difficulties or problems.

Baby blues symptoms may include weepiness, mood swings, irritability, anxiety, loneliness, restlessness and / or impatience. While emotional turmoil is normal, you want to make sure it is under control to avoid more serious forms of depression, such as the postpartum depression or postpartum psychosis.  In rare instances, mothers who suffer from postpartum psychosis commonly do not know they are experiencing depression and are putting themselves and their child at risk. If you feel you are under more emotional pressure than you can deal with or would like to know more information about baby blues, speak with your health care provider.

Don’t keep your partner in the dark. If you feel that you have the baby blues, let him know what you are experiencing and find ways for him to help you in any way you may need.  You don’t have to deal with the baby blues alone. Together you can devise a plan to help you get some rest and share the responsibilities of parenthood.  Through cooperation and open communication, you can hurdle over the baby blues and enjoy raising the newest member of the family together.

This mild form of depression can start a few days to a week after giving birth, and usually lasts for about two weeks. If you continue feeling “blue” or notice the symptoms mentioned above lasting for over two weeks, talk with your physician about how to recognize and treat postpartum depression. There is no shame in admitting you are experiencing the baby blues. The sooner you talk about it and get the assistance you need, the sooner you will feel yourself again!

A full term pregnancy lasts anywhere between 37 and 42 weeks (counted from the first day of the last menstrual period). Contractions starting on or after the 37^th week of a healthy pregnancy are normal and expected and will lead you to the delivery room.  It is contraction or dilation (opening of the cervix) before the 37^th week that may lead to preterm labor and/or premature birth.

The danger in premature birth is that the baby may not be fully developed to live outside the womb. Premature babies (also called preemies) are at high risk to develop complications, which in some cases can result in death. The risk of complications increases the earlier the baby is born. After a preterm birth, the preemies are cared for in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) until they are of full term, have reached the minimum weight and are out of harm’s way.

It is hard to predict preterm labor or birth, especially with first pregnancy. There is a range of factors that can affect preterm labor, including certain genital tract infections, placenta issues, excessively large uterus, too much amniotic fluid and certain chronic maternal illnesses. Speak to your doctor about preterm labor or birth if you experience any of the above issues or are concerned about it and want to know more.

After roughly 40 weeks of pregnancy, usually even a month or so earlier, you are ready for the last stage of the pregnancy – the delivery. Hopefully by now you have mastered all the birth preparation courses offered by your hospital (if you chose to take them), and your hospital bag is ready (or you at least have a good idea what it should contain).

At this point it is probably safe to assume you understand that there is no way back and the only way to get this baby out is to go through with childbirth. You may be concerned and even frightened about the pain of the actual birth, wonder about contractions and how they feel, and be impatient in expectation for the big day to finally arrive.

While you wait for your little one to make its way down the birth canal and your cervix to start dilating, you can take action as well to prepare your body for the delivery. What can you do? To start, you can drink loose leaf red raspberry tea. This tea is known to help strengthen the muscles of the pelvic floor and induce labor. While not medically proven, it is widely used by midwives throughout the world, and if you are ready to meet your little one sooner, why not try?

At around 35 weeks, it is time to start thinking about tearing, episiotomies and how you may be able to avoid them. An episiotomy is a surgical cut in the muscular area between the vagina and the anus (the area called the perineum) made just before delivery to enlarge your vaginal opening. Buy almond oil and start with tri-weekly perineum massage. You may need to engage your partner in this activity, for it may be challenging to reach your perineum area with a big prego belly..

To help speed along the arrival of your baby you can try to help your pelvis to open up by bounding on a birth (aka Pilate’s) ball with your legs spread apart, or walk up stairs two at a time; it is said that taking a long walk can help, as well as swimming (belly down); having sex is another way to help speed things along. There are many other tricks to induce labor you can try, but your best bet is to enjoy the time you have of your life as you know it pre baby and let your baby do what’s best for him.

Have an easy delivery!

The saying “God could not be everywhere and therefore he made mothers” could not be any closer to the truth. Think of it for a moment.  Once you have your first baby, it will become more evident to you how needed you are (and how much can be done in not to much time…).

At home, even before the baby, you most likely did (or shared with your spouse) the household chores. Cleaning the house, washing & folding laundry, washing dishes, grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning again, etc. Once you become a mother, your ‘skills’ are needed even more, and by more people. The obvious new roll you take on is the one of a mother. Your baby needs you for everything, especially in the first six months. Once your newborn can crawl, sit and entertain him/herself, you will still be needed, but will have more freedom to multi task as you may have done before.

The life you had before, may seem to have vaporized in front of your eyes, but one thing that hasn’t changed, is how much your spouse needs you now. Having a baby means changing the rules of the game completely, but at the same time it is important to continuously work on your romantic relationship. It is very common for new Dads to be jealous of the attention their newborns are getting from Mom. Attention that used to be his. Keep this in mind and talk to your spouse. Together you can divide the work load at home and find time to be together just the two of you.

After the birth you’ll find that you are needed at work more than you may want to be (at least in the beginning). After you get used to working, you’ll even find the positive sides of having time apart from your baby. Depending on your arrangement at work, you will be kept busy during the day.. and later kept busy at home too.

The many hats you wear keep you busy, and a helpful and understanding family will help you find the balance to tackle it all as well as find a minute to rest. If you can, accept any help offered to you, especially right after the delivery and in the first three months. Do not be too hard on yourself if you can’t get it all done as fast as you did before or beat yourself up if need help, embrace the new situation and ask for help when you need it.

It may not look like it in the beginning, but it DOES get easier.

Most of us took the sex education class in high school, right? What did they teach us there? What did we learn in biology about human anatomy and the reproduction system? Did we even listen, or were we too embarrassed to pay attention?

I think the later is most likely the closest answer to the truth, or it could be that we just forgot. Here’s a shocking (?) reminder – there is a whole lot more to getting pregnant other than having sex.  We should care to know the details for two reasons: One, so we know how NOT to get pregnant and two, so when we are ready we know what/when we need to do in order to increase our chances for conception.

If you are trying to conceive, you want to know when you are ovulating, so your efforts are more targeted. Something else to keep in mind is that sperm can live in the female reproductive system for up to three days. This will affect when you want to have intercourse.

Your physical health is a factor when it comes to your fertility. Pregnancy history, miscarriages and planned abortions can all affect your chances to conceive. The “ticking clock” is not a myth – your body will tell you when it is ready. Your fertility is at its peak in your mid 20’s. Not to say that the window is closed before or after, but it may become more challenging after age 35.  Something else to keep in mind is that weight issues can cause infertility. Malnourishment as well as overweight, can both affect your chances of conceiving.

If you are sexually active, but are not planning a baby, there are a few facts you should NOT overlook. The first is an all time myth that curtain sex positions will keep you from getting pregnant – this is NOT true. Also, proven methods to prevent a pregnancy include birth control pills and the use of condoms. Counting on safe days is a dangerous way to go. Specific foods or diets do not have a large impact on fertility, contrary to some beliefs. All in all, if you are NOT trying to conceive, research the birth control options available today. Talk to your doctor to see which one is best for you and your needs.

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