Science says eating just one meal per day can improve your health. Learn more at https://highintensityhealth.com/OMAD ----- 9:53 Postpartum Depression: Although almost 20% of women experience postpartum depression, historically, it has been seen as something of which to be ashamed. Fathers experience the same bonding mechanism with infants and they too can experience postpartum depression. 11:45 Possible Adaptive Benefit of Postpartum Cognitive Changes: It is often called Mommy Brain. In the last trimester, a mother’s brain shrinks maybe as much as 8%. Mom’s brain returns to normal size about 6 months after delivery. Dr. Brighten says that it is a very smart thing for the body to do. With this cognitive change, mom becomes extremely focused on baby. In primal days, mom needed to be hyper-focused and have a heightened stress response, to protect baby from predators and other threats. Today, we are still primal creatures. A new mother’s daily life of work, errands and a home lacking the support of a large extended family, no longer resembles the life for which she was designed. We live in an artificial, stress filled environment. Today’s stress raises havoc with cortisol levels, impacting neurotransmitters, causing a rise in inflammation. For a new mother, this has even more impact. 16:07 Postpartum Hyper-Sensitivity: In the postpartum period, the amygdala, a primal portion of the brain which houses fight/flight responses, enlarges. In addition, a woman’s hormones, and thus their emotions, fluctuate wildly. It is similar to the hormonal effects of instant menopause. 17:53 Maybe It Doesn’t Need Fixing: Often, the best course of action is to take no action, to be supportive and let it run its course. Maybe postpartum emotions need to run and we need to get out of the way. Let moms know that it is normal and there is nothing wrong with them. 19:47 Postpartum Planning: Dr. Brighten works with patients while they are still pregnant, using information from their history, family history, and their mother’s birthing experience. She gives them a plan for the first 6 weeks postpartum. Much of it is about body care, rest and nutrition. After 3 to 6 weeks moms return and Dr. Brighten runs labs to track, among other things, anemia and thyroid symptoms. 22:31 Emotions are Like the Rooms of Your House: You should be able to in and out of the rooms of your house with ease. If you get stuck in one of those rooms, that is a problem. Having a variety of emotions is normal. Being stuck in any one of them, may be time to look at intervention. 24:08 The Post-Baby Body: Nearly all women have body image issues. It is challenging to remember that she grew a human being inside her. That is extraordinary, and it comes with changes to the body. The baby bump was cute. Postpartum fat is not. Women feel out of proportion. Nature says that women need these fat reserves for feeding baby during a potential famine. A woman’s caloric need for breastfeeding increases by 500 to 700 calories per day. Most women find themselves starving and unable to get enough energy. Not every woman loses weight from breastfeeding. Everyone’s body is different. 26:01 You Really Need to Rest! Dr. Brighten cautions her patients to rest. Postpartum, the uterus is still heavy and the hormone relaxin is still present. Relaxin is a hormone that causes ligaments and tendons to relax and spread so the infant can pass through the birth canal. These ligaments also hold the uterus. If there is too much movement and pressure, uterine prolapse can begin. It may not become a problem for decades, so there is no immediate indicator that you need to sit down and rest. Abdominal training, without adequate rest and healing can cause damage to the abdominal muscles. When training can resume, depends on mom’s birthing experience. 27:51 Healing Benefits of Walking: The cross body action of walking helps to integrate and increase the communication between the right and left lobes of the brain. That and getting outside, breathing fresh air and being in nature, all help with stress reduction. 28:11 Losing Baby Weight: Dr. Brighten says that we should focus less on how a mother’s body looks and focus on what her body has done and is doing. The advice is that women should not try to lose weight or start a rigorous exercise program until one year postpartum.