What causes postpartum mood disorders?
Hormonal changes play a part. During pregnancy, estrogen and progesterone soar to many times their normal levels — only to plummet immediately after delivery. But fathers and adoptive parents can develop postpartum mood disorders, too, so hormones aren’t the whole answer. Other factors may include sleep deprivation, dashed expectations, a family history of depression, lack of social support and even the baby’s temperament. What causes postpartum panic attacks? One explanation is a surge in the stress hormone adrenaline, coupled with the brain’s lowered tolerance for stimulation in the weeks after childbirth. Gentry said new parents typically have four to five times their normal sensitivity to sound, which helps alert them to their babies’ distress. At the same time, the brain’s danger sensor, the locus ceruleus, becomes overly sensitive and churns out extra adrenaline in response to even innocuous sounds. “It’s the adrenaline that kicks in and causes these bursts of panic,” Gentry sai
