Navigating Three Types of Postpartum Issues
Image by Freepik
You sit on the couch, your newborn sleeping in her bassinette nearby. You feel restless and overwhelmed. Some days, you’re crying for no reason. Other days, panic settles into your chest as you worry endlessly about your baby’s safety. Sadness weighs on you, sapping your energy and joy. You wonder: Is this just baby blues, or something more? Is it depression or anxiety? The feelings blur together, leaving you uncertain and searching for answers.
If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone. Many face the complex emotions of the “three types of postpartum”.
What Are the Differences Between Baby Blues, Depression, and Anxiety?
Welcoming a new baby is a life-altering experience, filled with moments of joy, awe, and transformation. Along with these highs, many women face emotional lows that are often unexpected and, at times, overwhelming.
If you’re adjusting to life with a new baby, understanding three types of postpartum emotional challenges—blues, depression, and anxiety—can give you clarity and hope. Read on to learn how to recognize their unique traits and timelines, along with practical ways to foster psychological flexibility, a key part of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and mental wellness.
The Emotional Landscape After Birth
The postpartum period is marked by profound hormonal, physical, and psychological changes. It’s completely normal to experience a range of emotions – elation paired with exhaustion, gratitude laced with grief, and love shadowed by anxiety. While fleeting mood changes are to be expected, some emotional disturbances can be persistent or severe, impacting your ability to function and bond with your child.
Understanding different types of postpartum– postpartum blues, postpartum depression, and postpartum anxiety– is the first step in distinguishing what is typical adjustment and what might require professional attention.
Postpartum Blues: When Emotions Run High (But Briefly)
Postpartum blues, often referred to as “baby blues,” are the most common and least severe of the postpartum emotional responses. Up to 80% of new mothers will experience baby blues, typically beginning three to four days after delivery, peaking around day five, and resolving within two weeks. Symptoms include mood swings, irritability, tearfulness, sadness, mild anxiety, and sleep disturbances. These symptoms tend to come and go, interspersed with periods of feeling well.
Importantly, postpartum blues are considered a normal part of adjusting to new motherhood. They are thought to result largely from sudden hormonal shifts after childbirth, sleep deprivation, and the daunting demands of caring for a newborn. While distressing, baby blues are generally temporary and not disabling. If symptoms last longer than two weeks or become incapacitating, further evaluation is warranted, as about 20% of women with postpartum blues may develop more serious conditions.
Postpartum Depression: When Low Moods Linger
Unlike the transient baby blues, postpartum depression is more intense and longer-lasting. Affecting roughly one in eight women, postpartum depression (PPD) can begin within the first few weeks after birth, sometimes manifesting during pregnancy or up to a year after birth. PPD’s severity and persistence distinguish it from the blues. Symptoms can include deep and pervasive sadness, hopelessness, guilt, loss of interest or pleasure, extreme fatigue, changes in appetite, disrupted sleep, trouble concentrating, and difficulty bonding with the baby.
More severe cases may involve thoughts of harming yourself or the baby– a clear indicator that immediate help is needed. PPD is not a sign of weakness or failure as a mother but rather a genuine mental health condition affected by biological, psychological, and situational factors.
While the intensity of postpartum depression can make it feel inescapable, it is highly treatable. Support networks, psychotherapy like ACT (which promotes mindfulness and purpose-driven action) and sometimes medication can promote recovery. Early recognition and intervention make a significant difference in outcomes for both you and baby.
Postpartum Anxiety: Underrecognized and Disruptive
While postpartum depression draws more public awareness, postpartum anxiety is also prevalent. Studies suggest it affects as many as 10% of new mothers, sometimes co-occurring with depression but often standing alone. The unique hallmark of postpartum anxiety is excessive, persistent worry that feels unmanageable, along with physical symptoms like rapid heartbeat, restlessness, and muscle tension.
Unlike occasional or situational worries, postpartum anxiety often centers around fears for the baby’s safety or a mother’s perceived inadequacies, leading to obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviors. Women with postpartum anxiety may report feeling “wired” or unable to relax, experience constant rumination, or suffer panic attacks. Sleep can be elusive, not just because your newborn is on an irregular sleep cycle, but because anxious thoughts intrude even when you try to rest.
Again, postpartum anxiety is treatable. Evidence-based psychotherapies, including ACT and cognitive-behavioral therapy, can help you relate differently to your thoughts and find more psychological flexibility. Mindfulness practices and concrete behavioral strategies like structured problem-solving provide practical relief while medication may be necessary in some cases.
Comparing these Three Types of Postpartum Emotional Distress
Though these three types of postpartum difficulties–blues, depression, and anxiety–share some overlapping features, their duration, intensity, and impact differ meaningfully.
“Baby blues”, though distressing, are brief and resolve on their own. Postpartum depression is much more severe, persistent, and disabling, disrupting the ability to function and maintain relationships. Postpartum anxiety, often invisible, is marked by intrusive worries and compulsive checking or reassurance-seeking, sometimes without the hallmark sadness of depression.
What unites all three types is their origin in the profound transition to motherhood–a time of vulnerability, change, and uncertainty. However, only depression and anxiety indicate a need for clinical attention and, often, treatment.
The Role of Psychological Flexibility in Postpartum
No discussion of postpartum mental health is complete without addressing psychological flexibility. Psychological flexibility–a key part of ACT therapy–means accepting your thoughts and feelings while still acting according to what matters most to you. During the postpartum period, cultivating psychological flexibility might mean allowing yourself to notice difficult thoughts or emotions (like intrusive worries or moments of despair) without judgment, while still showing up to care for yourself and your child.
ACT teaches you to be present with what is, rather than fighting or avoiding emotions, and to take action–however small–in the direction of your chosen values. For example, if you’re struggling with anxiety about your baby’s safety, you might practice mindful acceptance of the worry (“This is my mind’s way of trying to protect my baby–thank you, mind”), then gently shift your attention to the present moment, engaging with your infant for a few minutes of play or cuddling. Similarly, if you’re affected by depressive symptoms, you might acknowledge feelings of inertia and sadness while still making a values-based choice to seek support from your partner, take a walk, or show yourself some self-compassion.
Stigma of Postpartum: Why Speaking Up Matters
Despite growing awareness, stigma surrounding postpartum mental health persists. Many feel shame or guilt for not experiencing unconditional happiness in the weeks after childbirth. It’s important to remember and remind others that struggles–small or serious–are not a moral failing or a measure of maternal worth.
Cultural standards that encourage openness, supportive conversations, and early intervention are best equipped to support the well-being of women and their families. Having those around you that can foster an environment where vulnerability is met with compassion can be life changing.
Your Path Forward
The expectation of constant joy after childbirth is unrealistic and can be a source of unnecessary suffering. A more compassionate, flexible view allows room for the full range of postpartum emotions: the sadness and anxiety, the confusion and joy–all of which can signal a need for understanding rather than judgment.
As you support yourself, remember these “three types of postpartum” emotional experiences are all valid. Some require professional intervention. Psychological flexibility–as practiced in ACT–can help you move with rather than against your emotions, opening space for healing, connection, and growth.
If you’re struggling, know that you’re not alone and help is available. Openness, support, and evidence-based care can transform postpartum challenges from sources of shame into opportunities for profound resilience and self-discovery.
When and How to Seek Help for Postpartum Symptoms
Knowing when to seek help is critical. If you or someone you know is experiencing symptoms that go beyond typical baby blues– such as persistent sadness, severe anxiety, panic attacks, trouble bonding with the baby, or thoughts of self-harm– it’s essential to reach out. Primary care providers, mental health professionals, and crisis helplines (such as the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline) are equipped to listen and connect you with appropriate care.
Treatment can include psychotherapy, support groups, lifestyle adjustments, and, in more severe cases, medication. Many medications, including selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, are compatible with breastfeeding. New options, such as FDA-approved brexanolone for severe postpartum depression, are also emerging. Consult your medical professional for more information on these options.
Coral Rose Counseling supports women dealing with postpartum depression and anxiety. We offer quality, caring virtual sessions for women residing in Georgia and Virginia. Contact us today for a free consultation.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Resources
Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies. (n.d.). Postpartum depression and anxiety [Fact sheet]. https://www.abct.org/fact-sheets/postpartum-depression-and-anxiety/
Bhandari, S. (2021, July 30). Postpartum anxiety: An invisible disorder that can affect new mothers. Harvard Health Blog. https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/postpartum-anxiety-an-invisible-disorder-that-can-affect-new-mothers-202107302558
Cleveland Clinic. (2022, February 3). Postpartum anxiety. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/22693-postpartum-anxiety
Mayo Clinic. (2023, June 1). Postpartum depression: Symptoms and causes. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/postpartum-depression/symptoms-causes/syc-20376617
