Many mothers struggle with postpartum depression and difficulties with exclusively breastfeeding. We usually believe that it’s just the luck of the draw in getting those issues or not.
- “Oh, she’s had a hard time. It’s understandable she may have depression.”
- “Breastfeeding is hard and painful. I can see why it’s been difficult for her.”
- “Every mother has the blues and some really need medication. That’s just how it goes.”
We act out of concern for these mothers and give our empathy and support where we can. And that’s wonderful.
But what’s often overlooked is the likelihood that these two signs, postpartum depression, and breastfeeding adversities, are associated with interventions during childbirth-mainly epidurals.
Signs - Postpartum Depression & Nonexclusive Breastfeeding
A new study recently published in Clinical Lactation has shown that the most common birth intervention, the epidural, is highly associated with a mother having:
- greater risk in getting and being diagnosed with postpartum depression (PPD)
- harder times staying with exclusive breastfeeding for significant amounts of time
NOBODY wants postpartum depression. And nearly EVERYBODY wants to be able to give their child breast milk. Yet MANY elect to having an epidural.
There’s a problem with this picture.
It’s a cascading effect down a negative slope toward the result you don’t prefer. Yet why are so many willing to jump off the edge? That’s a discussion for another day.
What This Means
But the point is this: When you mess with what mother nature has bestowed your body with and you choose to perform an intervention that’s going to inhibit its natural abilities, it only makes sense that your body would react negatively back to you-in this case, harm your emotional health and ability to take care of yourself and your baby.
In the conclusion of the study abstract, the authors state:
The type of birth a woman experiences influences breastfeeding and her emotional health.
When you choose to have a natural birth with the least amount of intervention as possible, you’re MORE likely to have the recovery that you want.
I’ve had three natural births-some with a few minor interventions, one with no interventions-and I have never had issues with breastfeeding or postpartum depression, even the baby blues. I’m just one example, but it’s enough for me.
“Yeah, but Sarah, you don’t have the emotional issues that some mothers maybe have prior to pregnancy. You may have a healthier mind or greater pain tolerance than these mothers needing an epidural.”
Maybe. But how can one know for sure if they will have enough mental strength or physical stamina, according to the world? One can’t! Because you’re measuring with the wrong ruler.
On heaven’s scale, we are all measured the same. Most of us all have the same abilities and strengths when it comes to our bodies birthing children.
Make Things Better, Not Worse
Now that you know epidurals are associated with worse outcomes, does it make you think twice about choosing it? There are hundreds of birth side effects whether naturally or not. I hope this just tips the scale a little bit more for you in favor of a desirable natural birth.
Of course when you know someone that needs helps with her breastfeeding or PPD, we should ALWAYS be there to support her. Not every birth turns out exactly as the mother desires. We should never blame her decisions of getting an epidural for why she’s having a rough time now.
But we CAN help others and ourselves with the knowledge that choosing such WILL more likely make things MUCH worse.
It’s hard enough dealing with:
- a baby that may be crying nonstop
- trying to function on less than four hours of sleep each night
- our vaginal area that’s constantly in pain
- the lack of time to be able to take care of ourselves
- pushing past the breastfeeding soreness constantly
- attempting to fix diastasis recti we may have gained
….among other things from a vaginal delivery recovery. Do you really want to add depression into the mix? Or having to spend tons of money on formula because you aren’t breastfeeding anymore?
I don’t. Having a new baby, whether you’ve done it before or not, is ALWAYS a new difficulty-a new adjustment for everyone. Having the LEAST amount of hardship after bringing a baby home is what we all should want.
You can do that by choosing to not have an epidural so that your chances of making things worse on yourself are much slimmer.
Enjoy The Best Recovery With This Perfect Pack
Have you had postpartum depression? Or was breastfeeding just very difficult that you didn’t stick with it? I want to know if you have an epidural and how you think that affected you. Please comment! I always respond to everyone. Best!
Remember, you can do hard things.
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Dave Sweney says
This was an interesting article for me and very informative. I am a husband, and my wife and I had two children.
With the first child she did have an epidural procedure, but not with the second. I personally did not notice any difference between the two in regards to the symptoms you mention…
Now having said that, it could be very well that I was not attuned to any such maladies she was going through. This was a lot of years ago and things have changed. Now this article may be of use for my grandchildren lol, so I will pass it to my kids to show their kids!
Thank you for sharing your perspective, Dave. It’s very likely that your wife had the same type of recovery symptoms each time, even though she had different deliveries. Many women do and work through their post partum the same way. Some women don’t and have completely different experiences each time. It’s all the tiny little factors that add up and usually make the difference.
Sheila says
Hi Sarah,
This was a very informative post and makes alot of sense add to why there is such an onslaught of PPD in women. You rarely heard of this back in our grandparents generation. Though I think epidural have pros and cons for both the mom and the doctor delivering, natural childbirth should be given more consideration beforehand. Reading this makes me so glad my child rearing days are done. ; )
Hi Sheila. I believe that there are other factors at play with women who end up with PPD even if they did not have an epidural during their delivery. The sheer fact of sleep deprivation for months on end is a major one all by itself. But that comes back to the things which we can control or not. We can’t control the fact that babies wake up in the night. But we can choose to give epidurals second thought. Thanks for your comments!
Brenda says
Hi Sarah,
Thanks for such an enlightening post. The post has covered so much information for a Mother giving birth. Your post was well presented and a very good lay out of the information .
I have 3 children, all natural births, hardly did anyone use
epidurals back in my days . I am glad they didn’t . Most babies were born at home and delivered by their grandmother, or a mid- wife. Wow what good days they were .
Thanks for the information about trauma during the pregnancy . It does effect a child as you stated ” where
the baby is inside or outside ” That is so true .
Keep up the excellent work. keep information coming . Very good .
Take care and Good Luck .
Brenda
I’m glad you enjoyed the read, Brenda. May I ask what ‘days’ you had your babies in? Seems I have to go back to my grandmother’s era to start finding women who came from a society that didn’t regularly use epidurals, let alone be born at home.
Feel free to share and visit anytime. Thanks!
msbren213@aim.com says
Hi Sarah,
Thanks for such an enlightening post. The post has covered so much information for a Mother giving birth. Your post was well presented and a very good lay out of the information .
I have 3 children, all natural births, hardly did anyone use
epidurals back in my days . I am glad they didn’t . Most babies were born at home and delivered by their grandmother, or a mid- wife. Wow what good days they were .
Thanks for the information about trauma during the pregnancy . It does effect a child as you stated ” where
the baby is inside or outside ” That is so true .
Keep up the excellent work. keep information coming . Very good .
Take care and Good Luck .
Brenda
Hi Brenda! That sounds like a wonderful time to have been having your children. It seems that all the young women of my generation are torn between all of the options out there. I would love to hear your birth stories if you would like to share them on our Stories Page , thanks! Feel free to share, best!
I was surprised to read this, and it may be true in some cases. I must then be an exception to the rulenn
I can count myself lucky as I had an epidural and then an emergency Caesar and I had no side effects, recovered quickly and breast fed my baby for eleven months with no problems.
I’m so glad that you shared your experience, Michel. It reinforces how I try to let young mothers know that they don’t need to worry about every single little thing. Yes, there are risks and research behind almost everything. And being wise to the possibilities is good. But also being informed about the rate of occurrence is just as important too. You yourself were one of many that these sorts of after effects didn’t apply to-and that’s wonderful!
Just like how I advocate giving birth in the hospital for myself and my own experiences. Yes, I know that the chances of my having interventions dramatically rises from that decision. But I still make it and I haven’t had to worry about it anyway.
Thanks for your comments!
I love your logical and persuasive presentation about potential negative cascading effects that an epidural may have on some women. Seriously, who wants to deal with any of that aftermath if at all avoidable?
Exactly. It is the basis for many decisions we should be more informed about when it comes to our bodies and our children. There are a host of natural and unnatural birth side effects that can be avoided with just a little more education-many of them lasting a lifetime. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Thanks, Helena!
Thanks for a great article Sarah. I had heard that an epidural can perhaps affect bonding with your child, but I hadn’t heard about it affecting breastfeeding or PND!
That is very interesting. I never had problems breastfeeding (other than the fact I didn’t enjoy it!) but I did get PND very badly after the birth of my first baby.
I planned a home water birth but things didn’t go as planned. 42 hours later I was only 4cm dilated and I knew my baby just was not going to come out. I went to hospital and had an emergency c-section. I had PND for 6 months after birth, I just didn’t realize it until I started coming out of it! It was a terrible place to be, I have never been so miserable (and nasty) in my life.
My poor husband that put up with me!
That’s interesting how you say that you didn’t realize you had your depression until you started coming out of it. Usually with your doctor followup visits and even with your baby’s doctor, they’ll have you fill out questionnaires and generally discuss how you’re feeling, if it’s coming to that. Were you ever asked about it from your doctor’s?
I imagine some women who’ve never had any sort of depression before may not recognize the symptoms either. But yes, props to your husband. I’m glad that you come through and things worked out well, even if they weren’t how you wished.
Thanks for your comments, Lynne.
Tar says
Hello Sarah. I once came across an article online that stress can create a negative impact to the newly born. Speaking of which, it is crucial for the mother to stay in a healthy state both mentally and physically.
Though I am not quite familiar with motherhood, this post does point out some useful tips that I can help someone (family, in particular) at times. An extra knowledge as well for me where I consider as points for discussion with some friends.
Thanks for posting, Sarah. Hope all’s great with you.
Tar.
Thanks Tar. You’re quite right. The stress and emotional state of the mother does impact their baby, inside of her and outside as well.
When I was pregnant with my second baby , we had an unexpected and traumatic death in our immediate family that my husband witnessed. And I can see the repercussions of that stress on the mental state of my little boy. There is SO much to factor in when it comes to how we are creating these little bodies.
There is a great video on the TED Talks For Moms post that discusses how our actions are directly affecting the generations after us when we’re pregnant. It’s really interesting. Give it a look and share. Have a great weekend!