Your recovery at home: How you may feel emotionally
After the birth of your baby, you may feel a wide range of emotions: excitement, joy, relief and amazement. You may also feel overwhelmed, uncertain, frustrated, or anxious.
Caring for an infant is hard work. Regardless of how prepared you are or how much you look forward to your baby's birth, the first weeks and months may include some unexpected highs and lows. Time, patience and support from family and friends can all be helpful during this period of adjustment.
Even with knowledge, planning, help, and support, most women (80 percent) experience a significant postpartum adjustment. The causes for postpartum "baby blues," postpartum depression, and even rare but serious postpartum psychosis are unknown. The postpartum period is a time of enormous biochemical change as well as a time of social and psychological adjustments that place many demands on the new mother and her family.
You may find it hard to ask for help for fear of being misunderstood. If you share your feelings with others, you may find that their response is not helpful or is inappropriate. Your feelings are not a sign of weakness or inadequacy. Try to talk to your friends, family, partner, and health care provider. Try to ask for what you need.
There are sources of support available to you. To assess how you are feeling, see our  postpartum depression worksheet.
Allina Behavioral Health Services
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