Does this Sound Like You?
A client who just had her 2nd child 2 ½ months ago, calls me for help with her mood swings. She told me her mood swings go up and down. She said, “Some days. I feel like I am in a slump. I don’t feel like doing anything personal, like getting dressed, brushing my hair or teeth. I guess you would say I am depressed on those days. I do take care of the baby and my 3-year old’s needs.” She went on to tell me that some nights they are ordering takeout food for dinner because she just doesn’t feel like cooking dinner. My client also stated that there are days when she is very irritable and angry. She has been snapping at her 3-year-old and her husband for the littlest things. There are times where she will have a day during the week when she feels like her usual self, happy go lucky and taking the kids for a walk to the playground, etc.
She also said, “I feel sorry for my husband some days when he comes home from work. He doesn’t know what kind of mood I will be in when he walks through the door. I am embarrassed to admit, I have had a few times when I don’t want to have anything to do with my husband or the kids.”
I asked her how she was after she had the 3-year-old and she said, “I was a little moody, but not like this and for a much shorter time. I selected the homeopathic remedy Sepia 6c for the hormonal postpartum changes my client is having since the delivery of her baby 2 ½ months ago. A week later after taking Sepia 6c in a Homeopathic Remedy Solution Bottle with 10 succussions, my client reported that her emotional state is not as erratic. She said, “I am now getting dressed in the morning. I am not as angry and snapping at my kids as I was before taking the Sepia. I told my client that is very good progress after taking Sepia 6c for a week. I had my client continue taking Sepia every day, until her hormones balance out and she no longer has postpartum depression.
What is Postpartum Depression?
Postpartum depression is when hormonal changes take place in the body of a woman, during the 1st and 2nd months after giving birth, and is often called PPD. Postpartum depression can cause mental, emotional and physical symptoms. When you are in postpartum, you may be experiencing depression, anxiety, and other health conditions. Some women with postpartum depression can’t adequately care for their baby or may even harm their baby. Clients mostly call me for postpartum mental and emotional symptom(s) and that is what we will be talking about here in this blog. You do not have to be in postpartum to use any of the homeopathic remedies discussed here. If you see a homeopathic remedy that fits what you are experiencing mentally and emotionally, you can take 6c remedy as discussed in this blog, once a day.
When you are experiencing physical postpartum symptoms, you will select a 30c or 200c homeopathic remedy according to the physical symptom you are having (i.e., headaches, stomach or muscle aches). You will take the selected physical symptom remedy several times a day, when your symptoms intensify.
Postpartum Depression Symptoms May Include:
- Irritability or hypersensitivity
- Difficulty concentrating
- Anxiety and worry
- Crying or tearfulness
- Anger
- Negative feelings such as sadness, hopelessness, helplessness, or guilt
- Loss of interest in activities you usually enjoy
- Difficulty sleeping, especially going back to sleep (after baby caretaking, feeding etc.)
- Fatigue or exhaustion
- Changes in appetite or eating habits
- Headaches, stomachaches, muscle or backaches
Do You Sometimes Feel Overwhelmed Since Having the Baby?
A client calls telling me she is overwhelmed with the new baby who is 2 ½ months old and her 3 and 5-year-olds. She said, “I feel like I am juggling a lot of things each day. I know the baby’s only 2 ½ months old and all she does is eat, sleep and poop, but I find most days it is too much for me to handle and to take care of my other 2 kids` needs, too.” She went on to tell me she has days where the baby is crying a lot and wonders if the baby has colic. The kids are always calling her “Mommy!”,” I`m hungry!” “I want to watch a video!” or 1 child is picking on the other. She feels it is just endless. As my client puts it, “I am just beside myself most days.” I asked how she is sleeping, and if she taking time to eat and get dressed, etc. She stated she is so tired with all that she is doing, when she goes to sleep, she falls asleep very quickly. She doesn’t have any problems getting up during the night every couple of hours to nurse the baby and she is able to fall right back to sleep. I had my client take the homeopathic remedy Calcarea Carbonicum 6c in a Homeopathic Remedy Solution Bottle with 10 succussions (taps) every night for the overwhelmed feeling.
My client called me 2 weeks later saying she is doing much better with the overwhelmed feeling. She said she is now able to step back and see what really needs to be done that day, after putting the family’s needs first. She went on to tell me that if she doesn’t get the dishes done that night, she does them the next morning. She also stated that the same thing goes for vacuuming and cleaning the bathrooms. As she puts it, “I don’t feel like I have to get everything done in one day. Now that Calcarea Carbonicum has helped change my mind set, I am able to breathe a little easier and enjoy the baby and the kids again. I told my client to continue taking Calcarea Carbonicum every night until she is no longer feeling overwhelmed with getting the day-to-day activities done; which may be for a couple of weeks longer to a month or so.
Homeopathic Remedies for Postpartum Depression
You want to select a 6c homeopathic remedy according to the symptoms you are experiencing.
Calcarea Carbonicum – You are feeling overwhelm with caring for your baby and your other children.
Caulophyllum – You can be feeling irritable, excitable, nervous, anxious or easily displeased. You feel worse in open air and from coffee.
Causticum – You are weeping and laughing or hesitates to talk. You always see the dark side of everything, you feel hopeless, despondent and may feel like you want to die. You feel mentally and emotionally worse on a clear day, or in dry cold air. You feel better during damp wet weather, and with gentle movement.
Chamomilla – You are irritable, angry, spiteful and quarrelsome. You don’t know what you want, and refuses when you get what you asked for. You don’t want to be touched, spoken to, or even looked at.
Cimicifuga – Your postpartum depression is a sense of gloom and unhappiness, like there’s a black cloud over everything. You sit and mope with great sadness and break down crying when asked, what`s wrong You feel better when resting, eating, with continued motion and in open air.
Kali Carbonicum – Your mood alternates, you feel crabby, very irritable and cry a lot. You are always quarreling with your family. You are hypersensitive to noise, touch and pain. You feel better sitting with elbows on your knees or on hands and knees on the floor (on all 4’s).
Natrum Muriaticum – During your postpartum depression, you don’t want to hang out with any anyone (feeling withdrawn); you only want company when you chose to have company. You dwell on past issues. You want to control everything around you (call all the shots) or everyone around you. You may crave salty foods (i.e., chips, pretzels).
Natrum Sulphuricum –Your postpartum depression is especially from having a traumatic birth and you feel overwhelmed and overworked with nursing, the care of baby and your other children, too. You feel worse from hearing music or in subdued lighting.
Pulsatilla – You are very emotional and is cry easily. You feel sad, lonely, abandoned, and not included in what others are doing. You love having company and sympathy. You may be craving foods that are rich creamy and fatty, and desserts (comfort foods).
Sepia – You don’t want anything to do with your partner or family. Can be distant towards your baby emotionally. You are feeling angry, irritable, moody, and easily offended.
Postpartum depression is not something you want to feel after the joy of giving birth to your baby. When your hormones go off balance, you feel you have no control in how you are feeling. A homeopathic remedy can help balance out your hormones and your mental, emotional and physical state.
