Postpartum depression: Helping to prevent it

During the 33 years that I have been practicing private medicine, hundreds women have told me that they believed their current health issues started shortly after their baby was born. It could have been the first or fifth child, a teenager or adult, but she remembers as if it was yesterday the postpartum onset. Get more info?

The symptoms which start in the first twelve months postpartum vary between mothers. Among the most common are depression and despondency. Others include chronic fatigue, insomnia, anxiety, lackluster confidence, muscle and nerve pains. The symptoms that have plagued a woman for years can make her feel frustrated, confused and even embarrassed. She may be embarrassed to reveal symptoms that have plagued her for years. It is possible that her attempts to link her symptoms with the birth of any of her children were met with skepticism. She still feels that the birth of her child was the cause of her decline in health.

Her observations are accurate and valid. Most mainstream practitioners do not take into consideration that a baby’s body is entirely formed from the nutrients of its mother. The brain, the eyes, the muscles, the bones, the organs, the glands, the nerves as well as the skin, the tissues and the fluids of the baby are all made from nutrients taken directly from the mother via the placenta.

Mother Nature puts her developing child first. During postpartum, mothers must replenish lost nutrients and energy. If they don’t do this, they could end up spending their entire lives wondering why they feel “different” since having a baby.

As a new mother, you may be unable to sleep or have enough energy for caring for your newborn. A woman who has lost significant amounts of blood giving birth to her baby will need more nutritional blood components. Women who have had Cesareans need to replenish nutrient stores as they are not only mothers but have also had major surgery. Women who suffer a loss of blood and fail to replenish nutrients could experience light-headedness or throbbing pains. Other symptoms include extreme fatigue, insomnia, anxiety, depression, and even anorexia.

New mothers also have to deal with the strain of fitting in the baby’s needs into their lifestyle, while caring for other children or her partner. All these responsibilities which women, and those whom they take care of, have taken for years are demanding high-quality nutrients. As a result of soil nutrient depletion, today’s food only contains half the nutrients it contained in the 1940s. As a result, it’s very difficult if not even impossible for a mom to replenish the nutrient reserve her body gave to build her baby’s body from food alone. Eating highly-refined and processed “junk foods” further depletes important nutrients, which increases the need to replenish them postnatally.

Every physiological process in the human organism is dependent upon nutrients. The time when you should replenish your postpartum reserves of nutrients is between the first 24 months after giving birth. Failing to replenish postpartum nutrients can often lead to chronic health conditions that can last for decades.