Postpartum Challenges: 4 Ways Husbands Can Support Their Wives During This Journey

The postpartum time period is a series of emotional and physical issues that extend way past the requirements of baby care. Most women feel a complicated combination of fatigue, hormonal changes, and sheer burden, normally resulting in a precarious mental state. Out of these issues, postpartum depression is one of the most life-affecting, impacting approximately one in every seven women worldwide. In poorer nations, it is even worse, with 20-40 per cent of women being depressed during or after pregnancy. Husbands can play a critical role in supporting their wives during this vulnerable time through constant backing, understanding, and shared care.

Before that, let us understand the various postpartum symptoms women experience during childbirth, explained by Dr Sheetal Jindal-MBBS, MD OBG, EPHM (IIM Kolkata) Senior consultant and medical director_Director Medical Genetics program_Jindal Ivf Chandigarh.

Postpartum Symptoms Experienced By Women Post Child Birth

Symptoms that are usually experienced by women suffering from postpartum challenges include deep sadness, fear, irritability, and numbness. These symptoms interfere with sleep, hunger, and energy levels, while incessant pressure to excel as an “ideal” mother intensifies their feeling of not measuring up.

“They experience isolation and helplessness, which, in more severe situations, progress into suicide or thoughts of self-harm. New mothers can also experience guilt over not instantaneously bonding with their newborn or worry about being judged, leading them to avoid receiving assistance. Such emotional and psychological challenges must be recognized as serious and worthy of compassion as well as clinical intervention,” said Dr Sheetal.

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4 Ways Husbands Can Support Their Wives During Postpartum

• Husbands can contribute notably by remaining emotionally present and attentive.
• Small gestures like checking in from time to time, taking turns at night-time duties, encouraging her to discuss her feelings, and acknowledging her experience can relieve her mental load.
• Promoting rest, providing her with proper nutrition, and supporting professional care when necessary are all part of the healing environment.
• “By acknowledging the depth of postpartum needs and responding patiently and in partnership, husbands may assist their wives in restoring emotional strength and self-confidence in new roles as mothers,” said Dr Sheetal.

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Image Credits: Freepik

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