12 VITALITY Spring 2025 Mental health and motherhood Expecting a baby? You may be feeling happy, nervous and excited. Pregnancy can come with many feelings, including feeling anxious and overwhelmed. After giving birth, many new moms experience tiredness, worry and sadness, also known as baby blues. These feelings usually go away on their own. For some women, these feelings can become severe and interfere with their daily lives. This is known as postpartum depression. Postpartum depression occurs in 1 out of 8 women and can happen to anyone. Women may also experience these feelings during pregnancy. Postpartum birth control: What new moms need to know With so much to do after your baby is born, it’s easy to forget about using birth control. But there are a couple of good reasons to think about it. You could get pregnant again soon after childbirth. If you’re breastfeeding every day and night, you probably won’t start ovulating again for up to six months. But you could start ovulating sooner. As soon as that happens, you can get pregnant. Your period usually starts two weeks after you ovulate, which means you could get pregnant even if you haven’t had a period. Your body needs time off between pregnancies. Many medical experts say you should wait at least 18 months before getting pregnant again. Using birth control can significantly lower your risk of pregnancy. You have many options for birth control. All of them are safe to use while breastfeeding, although some may decrease your milk supply. You can start using some forms of birth control right after childbirth. With other forms, you may need to wait several weeks. Here’s a breakdown: ● Right after childbirth: condoms, spermicide, injections, progestin-only pills, implants or intrauterine devices (IUD).
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTI0MzU=