Neuropsychologist reveals the impact of childbirth on the brain and psyche of women

Postpartum depression can be associated with drastic hormonal changes and a restructuring of the brain, which leads to a sense of loss of former life and emotional burnout. Svetlana Pulya, a neuropsychologist at the SM Clinic, told Izvestia about this on April 14.

According to the expert, after the birth of a child, the parents' habitual lifestyle changes, which leads to disorientation and a sense of loss of their former identity. Narrowing the range of activity and a lack of new stimuli reduce dopamine levels, which can cause feelings of emptiness and emotional burnout. The expert explained that pronounced hormonal changes also occur in the body.

"The level of estrogen and progesterone drops tenfold after childbirth — faster than in any other physiological process. This is a hormonal storm that is responsible for crying for no reason and irritability in the first weeks. At the same time, the amygdala, the area of the brain responsible for anxiety, is activated," the doctor noted.

As psychologist Irina Kopalova noted, mothers naturally have a feeling of "dissolving" into the child. This is due to the preservation of psychological fusion after childbirth and hormonal adjustment to the baby.

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"Mother and child are in fusion, despite the fact that physical separation has occurred. The hormonal background of both is tuned to each other. The child does not separate himself and his mother for the first months," Kopalova clarified.

According to her, fathers may feel less involved or unappreciated during this period, and women often experience feelings of devastation after giving birth, which are associated with both physical and emotional changes. The expert noted that it is important to distinguish fatigue from postpartum depression. An alarming signal can be a prolonged, more than a month, feeling of loss, detachment and unwillingness to interact with the child.

Kopalova emphasized that parenthood is only one of the roles of a person, and it is important to maintain a balance between them, without giving up one's own personality. She recommended in the first months to be more attentive to each other, to talk openly about their feelings and fatigue, as well as to find time for rest and joint leisure.

On the same day, family and child psychologist Maria Todorova noted that the desire to work with a minimum level of communication may be related not to the type of personality, but to the peculiarities of experiencing intimacy and security in contact with other people. According to her, such a choice cannot be unequivocally explained by introversion or personal preferences. We are talking about deep mechanisms related to the theory of attachment and the experience of interacting with others.

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