Beating the baby blues

When asked how they helped themselves, and what advice they would give to help others, half of the mothers said that finding someone to talk to about your feelings was the most important thing. You can find this support on our post-natal depression message board. The other bit of advice was to find time for yourself and to get out among other people.

Taking action

In truth many women can, and do, deal with the baby blues and even moderate depression quite effectively. If you are feeling down after birth, consider some of the following suggestions to help you cope:

Eat well. Keeping your blood sugar levels up will stave off the hypoglycaemia which can make symptoms worse. And while you may be anxious to get you figure back as soon as possible, a recent study in Nutrition Review (April 2000), confirms that strict low fat diets are linked to feelings of depression and even suicide. This may be especially relevant if you are breastfeeding, and using up more calories than normal. High caffeine and sugar intakes are also associated with higher rates of depression.

Supplement. If you can, supplement with 1000mg EFA’s (essential fatty acids) such as flax seed oil. Twenty years of research suggests that supplements of B vitamins are most useful. Most often implicated in depression are low levels of folic acid, B2 (riboflavin), B1 (thiamine), B12 and especially B6. A daily supplement containing around 50 to 100mg of the major B vitamins may be very effective. Increasing vitamin C, magnesium, and potassium, can also lift depression.

Rest. Sounds easy but many women find it very hard to rest with a new baby in the house. In the early days of parenthood you need to find a new rhythm for rest and give yourself permission to sleep when you baby sleeps, even if this means that occasionally dishes and other chores don’t get done.