Postnatal depression affects between 10% and 20% of new mums/ birthing people but what causes it? In short, we don't know!
However, here are some of the things we think might contribute:
Lack of sleep
Communication between the amygdala (bit of the brain that reacts automatically to perceived danger) and the prefrontal cortex (rational, calming bit of the brain) does not work well when we're sleep deprived. Our brain finds it harder to regulate stress and negative emotions, which can mean we're more susceptible to depression.
Lack of attention and emotional connectedness
Some new parents feel overlooked when their baby arrives as the baby can be the centre of attention for visitors. Lack of sleep and less quality time together after baby arrives can also mean that some couples feel less emotionally connected.
Lack of community
It takes a village to raise a child but, in our modern societies, where is our village? More of us move around these days and we don't necessarily live close to friends or family when we have our babies. We didn't evolve to parent alone but a lot of us find ourselves in that situation and, unsurprisingly, really struggle.
Lack of a sense of achievement
You can look up after spending all day at home looking after your baby and wonder, 'What have I done all day?'. The house might be a mess, none of the chores might have been done and you might not even have had a shower. Keeping a baby alive all by yourself might not feel like 'enough'. If this is you, I really recommend the book 'What Mothers Do: Especially when it looks like nothing' by Naomi Stadlen; it made me feel really seen as a new mum struggling with this.
Learning to parent the way we want to is a really steep learning curve and we are going to get things wrong! Lots of us have unrealistic expectations of being perfect parents before our babies are born and then struggle when we don't live up to our own expectations.
Depression can be a symptom of something else
Depression could be a symptom of postpartum thyroiditis, which is a thyroid condition that some women develop after giving birth. If you're struggling with depression or anxiety in the postnatal period and are also having physical symptoms (such as heart palpitations, brain fog, muscle aches and pains) it might be worth asking your GP for a thyroid function test to rule this out.
Birth trauma can be the underlying cause of postnatal depression but this is sometimes overlooked by healthcare professionals. This can be an important puzzle piece in working out how to feel better as the treatments for depression and birth trauma can be quite different.
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