Natural Remedies For Post Natal Anxiety

I rember it hitting me like a hammer after the birth of both of my sons. I was on edge, overwhelmed, in a constant state if hyper vigilance and always worrying something would go wrong. All typical signs of Post Natal Anxiety.

Second time around I knew what to watch out for so got help straight away by talking about how I was feeling with loved ones plus my midwife and post partum doula. I also took herbal remedies to support my nervous system.

The post partum hormone drop is the most significant a woman will ever experience due to it's sudden onset and intensity.

During pregnancy, our estrogen and progesterone increases significantly but by day three postpartum your levels have returned back to baseline. That's a huge drop in a short amount of time! This is why extremes in emotions commonly occur during this time.

With all of the crazy hormone shifts a new mother goes through during pregnancy, birth and post partum it is common that the important neurotransmitter GABA can be affected. This neurotransmitter is our anti anxiety, calming hormone which can be blocked by the stress hormone cortisol and diminished by nutritional deficiencies, particularly Magnesium which creates GABA's precursor Glutamine.

So what helps?

Lack of sleep makes anxiety worse so practicing 'sleep banking' can help. This involves napping during the day to try and catch up on hours lost at night. Even just using one of your baby's nap times to sleep yourself can help!

Never letting yourself skip meals is also important. When you're blood sugar drops this increases the stress hormome cortisol which will heighten your anxiety. Each meal should contain good protein such as nuts, seeds, legumes etc and healthy fats such as avocado, olive oil or flaxseeds. Keeping your blood sugar steady can keep your mood to stabalise.

Fatigue and elevated cortisol make us crave more sugar but eating too much sugar for comfort and energy will actually end up making you feel more anxious and more tired! So try to skip the refined sugars and have things like fresh fruit and yoghurt or fruit smoothies packed with nuts, seeds and protein powder instead.

When it comes to supporting new mums with Post Natal Anxiety I ensure that they have both nutritional and herbal support to calm and nourish their nervous system. I like to prescribe Omega 3 Fatty Acids, B Vitamins, Amino Acids (important for the formation of neurotransmitters such as our happy hormomes Serotonin and Dopamine plus pur calming hormome GABA), Magnesium (an amazing anti anxiety mineral) and Zinc.

I help them with dietary planning and prescribe a custom herbal mix which may include herbs such as St. John’s Wort, Rhodiola, Lemon Balm, Skullcap, Passionflower and Motherwort which all help with anxiety and depression.

Women who have anxiety and depression before pregnancy are much more likely to have it during and after pregnancy. So if you know you have a tendency to anxiety make sure you talk to your support network during pregnancy.

Getting support postpartum is essential! Being able to talk with trusted people about how your feeling is important. Umderstanding that you’re not alone and that it's very common for new mums is also helpful.

If you are experiencing Post Natal Anxiety I would love to help support you with my online or in person  Naturopathic Sessions. You can email me at kate@littleyarrow.com to find out more!

Want to learn more? Grab your Free Postpartum Healing Toolkit Here