What Happens With My Hormones after Giving Birth?
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Kaely Harrod 0:01
Hello and welcome back. Today's question is what happens with my hormones after giving birth? This is Kaely Daily, the bi weekly podcast about all things doula Tips and Tipt, where we answer one question about pregnancy, labour, postpartum, or lactation, in order to have your journey in this parenting world be just a little bit more informed and filled with consent.
Kaely Harrod 0:35
Hello, and welcome back to Kaely Daily. I'm Kaely Harrod, your host, and the creator of this beautiful podcast and also creator of the birth prep blueprint, which is the class that makes this podcast possible. So today, we're tackling another postpartum question, what happens with your hormones postpartum? Now, I think this is something that we sort of like, generally, know, hormones are impacted in the postpartum time, right? Without really like clear information about what is happening. I really think Information is power that like maybe cliche flip phrase, I believe that because I think that you can make informed decisions when you have information that's helpful in lots of areas of life, so and I of course, apply that to postpartum and birth as well. So I want to start by talking about what happens immediately after delivery. So So I sometimes tell people your hormones go bananas, that's true. So your progesterone and your estrogen just completely tank immediately after delivery, like just go down incredibly low. And then your prolactin which is the hormone around breast milk production, and things like that increases dramatically, as does your oxytocin, which is like bonding, attachment, all of those kinds of functions. So those are very high after delivery, which can be lovely, because they give you some of that feel good stuff. But also, your estrogen and testosterone have gone quite, quite low. Now, what I think this normally looks like in terms of emotions, how this plays out, is that you feel a lot of extremes in the early postpartum weeks, it can be really dramatic, like, either you're like so happy, or you're very sad, right. And some of my clients will describe this as like peaks and valleys, right? Like these very extreme peaks and valleys, that then as you go on, they get less extreme, right, so they kind of normalize a bit, where the difference between a peak and valley is not so dramatic, okay. So then, by about three months or so, your hormones of what your estrogen and your progesterone are back to pre pregnancy levels in most people. That is, of course, assuming that you were not having some kind of hormonal imbalance before pregnancy. I am a person that lives with PCOS, polycystic ovarian syndrome. And so hormone imbalance is part of us, those of us who have this beautiful condition, it's part of our lives, right. So if that is not something that you had balance in before, it doesn't mean you're going to magically have balance in it after birth, although pregnancy does sometimes rectify some of those things for folks. So um, so that's one thing. So really, you're thinking about like those first three months, your hormone levels are normalizing and regulating. Now, does that mean that you're going to have those highs and lows for a full three months? I would say most people do not. But certainly you can. Now if it goes beyond a few weeks, my recommendation as a doula is usually to seek out assistance. Seek out mental health care, seek out medication if you feel like you need it. I don't think anybody really is detrimentally impacted by counseling and things like that, like having more support is generally better than having less support. Okay? So I don't mean to say that I think you should go a full three months before you decide if you're dealing with postpartum depression or anxiety or some other mood disorder, okay. Now, at six months postpartum, usually you see a drastic decrease in prolactin levels, which means a lot of people have a dip in supply in breast milk supply around that time, not not an entire dip. Some people don't notice it, some people do. That's around the time that some people have their first postpartum period or menstrual cycle. If that is if that's what your hormones do. So that's one thing that you might see as your hormones are also coming back, kind of to their normal levels right.
Kaely Harrod 4:58
Now, one of the things I think is important to remember about hormones is that they really have a big impact on a lot of different systems. So your uterus, your fallopian tubes, your ovaries, right, your GI tract, mental health, your emotional health, so many different factors come into play with hormones. Okay? That being said, they are sort of the silent thing, that maybe not as silent for some people. I'm a weepy postpartum person. So you know, there's that some of you will feel the progesterone and that they're like sweaty and things like that. But there's something where if you feel great physically, your body is still healing from the hormone change of pregnancy and birth. So let's say four weeks postpartum, you're like, I feel amazing, I'm gonna go for a walk, I'm gonna do all the things, that's great. Except that you need to also remember that you are, in fact, still healing, doesn't mean you shouldn't go for a walk and like, do things that you love, right. But keep in mind that your hormone levels have not regulated at that early, have a postpartum time. Okay. So as we think about postpartum healing, I want you to kind of think about the layers of it, where like, the superficial, maybe like the pain that's present in stitches, or something like that might begin to heal. But there are a lot of internal layers that are also healing that you need to factor into this time. Because you really want to set yourself up to not still be healing from those many weeks or months down the road, if you can help that. Okay. Now, with anything, there's a huge range of normal. That is true for this as well. Some people feel really great emotionally, mentally, hormonally. Now, that doesn't mean their hormone levels are completely regulated. But they might feel great at you know, eight weeks postpartum, six weeks postpartum. Some people really do not feel that improvement or that change until closer to three to six months. And that's the range of what can be normal. Now, sometimes postpartum is just crazy, hard. Physically, emotionally, mentally, there are so many different factors at play. So I do not ever, and especially not in this episode, want to say that I think you should feel great and wonderful and lovely at a certain day and time. Okay, that is not the case. I think that if you are not feeling like you're doing well, at any point in the postpartum time, getting some sort of support is going to benefit most people. Okay? Now, I am obviously not your provider, I am not giving medical advice. This is for entertainment and education. But my encouraged encouragement to you would be if you're struggling, reach out for support and whatever you're struggling and if you're struggling with physical healing, reach out to your provider, reach out to a physical therapist, if you're struggling with lactation, or like milk, supply something or other reach out to a lactation consultant. If you're struggling emotionally or mentally or relationally. If your relationship with your partner, if you have a partner that is struggling, reach out to a counselor or mental health professional, I really think that the postpartum time is a time that we are meant to be surrounded by resources and help, I really do not think that we do ourselves a favor, trying to do the postpartum stuff on our own. Because you need support, you need support. And one of those I don't know a single person who has had a baby that doesn't need one of those categories of support or multiple of them or all of them, right. So there is no shame in that that is normal in the postpartum time. It's normal to need support period, what kind of support you need, what that looks like for you what's available to you. There's a big difference for different people, right? But everybody needs some level of support in the postpartum time. Okay, so that is my postpartum pep talk, I guess. And I in the meantime, until you hear me from me again. I wish you well informed consent filled verse and postpartum times.
Kaely Harrod 9:41
These episodes are edited and produced by Kaely Herat as I'm sure you can probably tell, and our amazing music is credited in the shownotes as well. So we look forward to seeing you on the next episode. And in the meantime, Have a wonderful and consent filled
Transcribed by https://otter.ai
What Happens With My Hormones after Giving Birth? How will I feel during the postpartum time? I remember asking these questions during pregnancy. These are common questions to have because of the talk about Postpartum Depression and then Postpartum Anxiety. There is a lot happening with your hormones in the postpartum days and weeks and that is one more reason why rest and patience is so important.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Estrogen and progesterone both plummet after birth while oxytocin and prolactin increase to facilitate bonding and lactation
This drop impacts emotions and you often feel a lot of extremes in the early postpartum weeks
After about three months or so, your hormones of what your estrogen and your progesterone are back to pre pregnancy levels in most people
RESOURCES
FREE OXYTOCIN GUIDE:
6 Ways to Increase Oxytocin for Labor Progression
https://www.harroddoulaservices.com/free-guide-6-oxytocin-tips
CONNECT with Kaely on Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/Harroddoula/
This podcast is hosted by the Birth Prep Blueprint - comprehensive Childbirth Education for expectant parents to feel calm, prepared and confident about labor and birth. Podcast listeners (that’s YOU!) get 10% off! Use the link below to get that great deal!
https://thebirthprepblueprint.com/offers/884d5a56-9089-4482-a944-6bb7c26c9b04
If you like this episode, don't forget to share it to your Instagram stories and tag me @harroddoula
Kaely Daily is produced by Kaely Harrod of Harrod Doula Services
It is sponsored by The Birth Prep Blueprint Childbirth Class
Music by Madirfan: Hidden Place on Pixabay
