A new baby should be a time of happiness, joy, hope, it is a time that most of us look forward to.

It can be very unexpected and frightening to suddenly feel like your world has come crashing down once your baby is born or even in the months that follow.

Symptoms can occur sometimes during pregnancy but mostly once the baby is born and usually anywhere up to six months later which can last for years if left untreated.

They include feelings of anxiety, depression, sometimes extreme to the point where you may feel you cannot even leave your house, insomnia, anger, tearfulness, guilt, hopelessness, helplessness, loss of control, some woman also experience thoughts of harming themselves and the baby, all of which are quite normal if you feel there is no way out.

It is important to know you are not alone, statistics show around 15 per cent of mothers will experience some form of PND within the first six months, this figure is likely to be far higher as many mothers simply do not seek or ask for help or fall through the cracks of their health care workers, such as their GP or midwife.

There are a lot of overwhelming factors that can contribute to PND/anxiety, such as sleep deprivation, broken sleep, feeling house bound, trapped, loss of  job, income, change of usual routine, isolation,  (not mixing with other adults), stressful pregnancy, childbirth, self image changes, weight gain, lack of vitamins/minerals, estrogen dominance, premature birth, difficult baby (colic) silent reflux, baby born to down syndrome, loss of baby,  poor support, previous or current mental health conditions that can often flare up again following the stress of pregnancy or childbirth.

During pregnancy the hormones estrogen and progesterone rise in volume by 30 to 50 times.

This creates the morning sickness, increase in urination, and tiredness as the hormones reach a peak and then level off, during this time you should feel better than the first three months.
By the third trimester your body will be producing 300 to 400 mg of progesterone per day.

In some pregnancies the placenta does not produce enough progesterone, which can lead to feelings of depression/anxiety  even before the baby is born.

However, most post natal symptoms usually occur a few months after the baby is born, but it takes only three days post birth for the hormones to plummet and return to normal.
75 per cent of your hormones are lost through your placenta when the baby is born.

It is not surprising you may be feel anxious and depressed.
Some woman have also experienced an increase in post natal anxiety following IVF.
A study of 27 new mothers  carried out in 1976 showed those at greatest risk of depression/anxiety following birth also had the greatest drop of progesterone levels.
Highly regarded American Obstetrician Dr Christiane Northrup recommends woman at risk of post natal should start using progesterone cream the minute the baby is born.
I would always take a saliva test as a first line approach for woman with post natal issues, to check their progesterone levels before looking at anti depressants.
This is not to say that I would not recommend anti depressants/ or hospitalisation if I felt the need based on ten years as an RN with acute mental health experience.