“Why Do I Feel So Blue When I Finally Have My Baby?” 7 Ways to Cope with Post-Partum Depression
Feelings of Depression Soon After Childbirth Are Common…
Most mothers (60%-80%) experience some emotional sensitivity, also known as “the baby blues” in the first week after childbirth. These feelings usually spontaneously subside within 24 – 72 hours with the majority of new mothers. When they don’t subside, both mothers and babies can suffer substantially.
Why Mother-Infant Bonding Matters
Have you ever wondered how you can best enable your child to thrive emotionally; feel confident; be inquisitive; develop healthy peer relationships; and be able to manage stress? Many of the answers can be found in mother-infant bonding.
Babies actively seek contact with their mothers and try to keep them close by smiling, cooing, looking, clinging, sucking, and following parents. Establishing and maintaining closeness with their mother creates feelings of love, security, and joy.
In the 1950s John Bowlby, the father of attachment theory, observed children’s reactions to separations from their mothers, such as hospitalization. He was struck by the sheer intensity of emotion the children experienced during the separation. Through observing the impact of separation, he came to appreciate the importance of emotional bonds. He stated that it is essential for the mental health of the infant that “the infant and the young child experience a warm and intimate and a continuous relationship with his mother (or permanent mother substitute) in which both find satisfaction and enjoyment”.
