Plenari 9 – Postpartum Blues : Challenges to Successful Breastfeeding

Many physiologic changes occur in a new mother’s body in the first few days after delivery. The drop of oestrogen and progesterone levels are replaced by higher levels of prolactin and oxytocin in women who are breastfeeding. A new mother may be recovering from the impact of labour and delivery, or Caesarean section.

At the same time, new babies need attention and feeding around the clock often resulting in sleep deprivation. Hence, it is very common for a new mother to develop “postpartum blues” in the first week after delivery as the result of many adjustments that she has to make.
This condition and other more serious post-partum psychological conditions i.e. postpartum depression and postpartum psychosis pose a big challenge to breastfeeding. Postpartum blues is usually brief and self-limiting. Post-partum depression is a treatable condition, and receiving treatment for depression may not mean that a mother will have to stop breastfeeding her baby. On the other hand, arriving to a decision to breastfeed or not during the treatment of post-partum psychosis may not be straight forward and may require some deliberation.

A general understanding on these issues hopefully will help breastfeeding counsellors in guiding mothers to be, to make informed decision on what would be best for them and their babies.