What is maternal hypervigilance, a symptom of postpartum depression?

A mother’s hypervigilance results in constant anxiety after the baby is born.

It can result in an inability to sleep despite fatigue, agitation, and irritability.

If it persists, it can be a symptom of postpartum depression.

Popular on social networks, the term maternal hypervigilance describes a state of permanent stress regarding the child’s health. When you’re learning to be a mother, when you’re still asking yourself questions about parenthood, and when you want the best for your baby, it’s normal to be on the lookout for your new baby’s slightest movements. However, at the risk of endangering the mother’s psychological state, maternal precautions should not last.

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If it persists, hypervigilance becomes alarming

Paying special attention to your baby, for whom everything is new like the mother’s life, is a common trend in the first days. According to Anna Roy, an interview was conducted by a midwife Kindergarten HouseHowever, it should not drag on forever: “We must close this moral circle: the less you sleep, the more you worry, so the less you can sleep… it becomes hell! If this condition persists, he suffers from physical defects, but also from depression or severe anxiety disorders. This state of hypervigilance is one of the symptoms of postpartum depression, which is why you should be concerned at the first signs.

What to do if this situation continues?

If after seven to ten days you cannot relieve the pressure because of the fear that something will happen to your baby, you should go to the doctor. In advance, it is possible to take the EPDS (Edinburgh Postnatal Scale) online, a test that allows you to assess the risk of postpartum depression in ten questions. To get back to “normal” after starting your follow-up, Anna Roy advises her patients to spend several moments each week, two to three hours, without the baby:Go to a movie, go out for a walk… do something for yourself. An effective way out of this situation of constant monitoring of your child. And it doesn’t stop you from breastfeeding. As a bonus, the first benefits will appear quickly, assures the midwife: “And already, in three days, we noticed that sleep is coming back, and this problem, which was very big, stops, and it prevents us from falling into depression.”