Postpartum, mental health
Baby blues, or something that needs help?
Tearfulness in the first days is common and passes. Here is how to tell when low mood has become something to get support for, and who to tell.
Reviewed against NHS, 1 min read, published
Crying at an advert, three days after the most significant event of your life, is not a character flaw. The first week or two often comes with weepiness and anxiety that lifts on its own.
Baby blues, or something more?
When low mood carries on past a fortnight, when nothing feels interesting, when you cannot sleep even with the chance, or when you feel you are failing at something everyone else manages — that is worth naming.
Feeling down, anxious or irritable for a few days after your baby is born is very common.
Telling someone
Postnatal depression is common and treatable, and telling your midwife, health visitor or doctor is not a report against you. It is the same conversation you would have about a wound that was not healing.
Quick summary
- First week or two: weepiness and anxiety that lift on their own are common
- Past a fortnight: low mood that carries on is worth naming
- Who to tell: your midwife, health visitor or doctor
- Thoughts of harm: get help the same day, from whoever you can reach fastest
