The birth of a baby can start a variety of powerful emotions, from excitement and joy to fear and anxiety, and at times depression. Most new moms experience postpartum “baby blues” after childbirth, which commonly include mood swings, crying spells, anxiety and difficulty sleeping. Baby blues usually begin within the first 2 to 3 days after delivery and may last for up to two weeks.

But some new moms experience a more severe, long-lasting form of depression known as PPD (postpartum depression) which can start during pregnancy (peripartum depression) and continue for months after childbirth. Symptoms might include:

• Agitation/Anxiety
• Chronic exhaustion
• Confusion
• Decreased appetite
• Depression/Despair
• Difficulty relaxing and concentrating
• Emotional numbness
• Fear
• Frequent crying
• Hopelessness
• Guilt
• Insomnia
• Intense irritability
• Difficulty bonding with the baby
• Mood swings
• Withdrawal from social contacts

Postpartum psychosis is a severe medical condition that disturbs person’s sense of reality after childbirth. Postpartum psychosis needs medical and pharmaceutical intervention.

There are many treatment options available for new moms suffering from PPD, it is important for the new mom to have enough support after childbirth and follow a healthy life style such as restful sleep, eating healthy diet to build up their Jing (essence) after giving birth and enough nutrition to support breast feeding.

Other treatment options for PPD include psychotherapy, and anti-depressant medications, other more natural options to treat postpartum depression are Acupuncture and use of herbal medicine.

Acupuncture is widely used for many mood disorders such as anxiety, depression and stress, a recent study published on May 2023 in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience journal has shown that Acupuncture can be an effective treatment for PPD. Acupuncture points used in this study included DU20, Yintang, LI4, LR3, SP6, PC6, HT7, REN4, REN6, REN12. This study demonstrated that the structure of amygdala sub-regions is impaired in patients with PPD. Acupuncture may improve depressive symptoms in patients with PPD, and the mechanism may be attributed to changes in the amygdala sub-region structure and the functional connections of brain areas linked to the processing of negative emotions.

Herbal Medicine is another effective modality in treatment of PPD, patient should consult a licensed herbalist to take appropriate herbs that are not harmful to an infant. Herbs which are used for PPD include:

• Adaptogens to support nervous system such as Ashwagandha, blue vervain, and American ginseng
• Relaxants and Anxiolytic to relieve stress such as Mother’s worth and Milky oats, Skullcap
• Antidepressants to relieve depression such as St. John’s worth
• Sedative to aid with sleep such as Lemon Balm, Passionflower
• Hormonal regulators such as Dang gui, Vitex, Peony
• Blood tonics to build energy and stamina such as Nettle, Peony, Rehmannia

Traditional Chinese Medicine has many herbal formulae to help a woman to heal after childbirth, Chinese medicinal herbs have shown to reduce postpartum pain and uterus cramping, reduce nipple pain and nipple rash. Herbs are also used to tonify Qi, Jing and tonify and move blood after childbirth along with some yin and yang tonic herbs to regulate hormones. Herbal Formulas such as Xiong-gui-tiao-xue-yin  (Ushiroyama, Sakuma, & Ueki 2005) have shown in specific to help with PPD. Herbal formula such as Du Huo Ji Sheng Tang  (Chen & Chen, 2009) has been used to treat postpartum pain. Other Formulas such as Bu Zhong Yi Qi Tang, Chai Hu Jia Long Gu Mu Li Tang, and Yi Gan San have shown to be anti-depressive and antinociceptive (Chen et al 2012).