Mood Support
There are a huge number of factors that affect our mood during pregnancy and the postpartum period.
We often want to blame it on hormones and write it off as normal, but that’s only one aspect of the
issue. If stress, anxiety or depression are affecting your ability to take care of yourself, function normally
or enjoy your pregnancy, it’s time to take action.
First, please talk to me. As your midwife, it’s part of my job to support you emotionally and make sure
that you and your baby are safe and healthy. So if your mood is concerning to you, please reach out
and we can do some troubleshooting together.
I like to say that it’s normal to be on an emotional roller coaster during this time and to have lots of ups
and downs. But it’s NOT normal to feel like you’re under water emotionally. It’s not healthy for you or
baby if you’re feeling negative all or most of the time and/or your feelings are affecting your ability to
enjoy your life/pregnancy/baby. And sometimes it’s not that extreme, but you’re not feeling like your
normal self and you’d like to optimize your emotional well-being as much as possible to prevent your
negative emotions from intensifying.
So what can you do? Below there are some supplements and herbs to try that should help boost your
mood, but my sincere belief is that lifestyle changes will make a far greater and longer lasting impact
than supplements. However, these remedies are effective and can help you overcome these difficult
moments or seasons. Just remember, supplements are best used for temporary relief, and lifestyle
changes are actual long-term solutions. So I encourage you to use the supplements to get through hard
times and help you establish new routines to support your own long-term health and wellbeing.
Prioritize the Basics: Nutrition, Hydration & Sleep.
Your brain cannot function optimally if your basic needs are not met. As moms we often put our own
needs last and this has a real impact on our health and wellbeing. Obviously we need and want to take
excellent care of our kids and their needs often have to come first, especially in the early years.
However, we may also tend to do other less important tasks before we take care of our own basic
needs. For example we may give the kids breakfast and start a load of laundry, do the dishes and get
started on a few things for work etc. ( GUILTY ) and then before you know it it’s 2pm and you haven’t
eaten, haven’t had nearly enough water or done anything for yourself. Or we may go to bed late
because we’re watching a show or enjoying a kid less hour or two at the end of the day, but we’re
sacrificing sleep and then end up sleeping in and starting the next day slow and groggy.
Imagine instead you have a reasonable bedtime and a solid bedtime routine that helps you wind down
and prepare to rest. You prioritize sleep and give yourself 8 solid hours of rest, even if you’re
breastfeeding through the night, you’re giving yourself that time in bed and practicing good sleep habits
to feel as well as possible during this time.
Then you have a good morning routine established to get your day started. It includes feeding and
hydrating yourself, intentional exercise and anything else that helps you feel whole and sparks joy or
gratitude for your day such as meditation, prayer, creative hobbies etc.
So below is just an example with multiple options that you could include in your own daily routine. But
the basic elements are there to help you develop and maintain balance; sleep, nourishment, hydration,
stress management, time management, home and family care. Add your own categories as well!!
Recipe for Health and Wellbeing:
💙 Reasonable bedtime & bedtime routine
🩵8 hours of sleep - the brain and body cannot function optimally or even maintain normal chemistry or
hormone regulation without adequate sleep. Find a way to prioritize sleep.
💚Morning Routine:
Drink your tea/coffee, wash your face, pray/journal/ set your intentions for the day; feed your soul first
Eat a protein rich breakfast
Start hydrating (daily goal is half your body weight in oz)
💛Intentional daily exercise: 30 mins continuous moderate exercise- you need to break a sweat to get
significant cardiovascular and mood-boosting benefits of exercise. (Being busy and active with your
kids is good, but it does not have the same benefits as actual exercise where you get a sustained
elevated heart rate).
🧡Do your Day: remember to keep hydrating and nourishing yourself with quality food. Spend time
outside - this literally balances our brain chemistry. Get 20 mins of sunshine on as much of your skin as
you can.
❤️PM routine: Tidy up from the day, make dinner, reset the kitchen, quality family time, kids bedti
routine
💜Mamma’s bedtime routine: skincare, teeth, journaling , quality time with hubby, vitamins, reading etc
Pregnancy Safe Mood Boosters:
ANTIDEPRESSANT FOODS: Cashews, Tumeric, dark chocolate, spirulina, banana, avocado,
almonds, sesame seeds, grass fed dairy. Reduce or eliminate refined sugars and flour - these disrupt
normal blood sugar and hormone regulation leading to unstable mood.
Tryptophan containing foods (support good mood): turkey, chicken, fish, eggs, grass fed dairy/products,
nuts & seeds, beans, fruits & vegetables.
BOOST YOUR DOPAMINE: 20 minutes of music that makes you happy, meditation, creativity,
gratitude.
BOOST YOUR OXYTOCIN!
Practice listening to loved ones/increase your closeness and connection. Touch, cuddling, orgasm,
giving to others, smiling, laughing, crying all boost oxytocin.
Magnesium - oxytocin receptors require magnesium, food sources: pumpkin seeds, almonds, dark
chocolate, spinach, bananas, avocado, meat, dairy, eggs, coffee.
Epsom Salt baths - another way to get magnesium
Vitamin C & D increase oxytocin release
BOOST YOUR ENDORPHINES:
Exercise, sex/orgasm, laughter, chocolate, good food, spicy foods, make music/sing, yoga/active
stretching, vanilla & rose aromatherapy (combine with epsom salts in your bath for a double boost!)
REDUCE YOUR CORTISOL/REDUCE YOUR STRESSORS:
Make the changes you know you need to make on the things that you can control, to change your
circumstances and reduce life-stress, release the rest.
Try an anti-inflammatory diet, get good sleep, avoid caffine in the evening. Establish a habit of
relaxation; try yoga, massage, meditation/journaling/prayer, break negative ruminations and hostile
thoughts, break the habit of overthinking. When you notice these thought patterns, actively choose to
"change the track" to a positive or relaxing pattern such a thinking of what you're grateful for instead,
going for a quick walk/activity break, saying a favorite verse/prayer or anything else that helps you get
out of the negative pattern.
300mg fish oil (DHA/EPA) Has been shown to support the mother’s mental health & recovery in the
postpartum period, reduces cortisol, so does chocolate and fruit. Dehydration increases cortisol so
drink water!
REGULATE NOREPINEPHERINE:
Cold exposure/cold showers or cold plunges, regular exercise, good sleep, sunlight in your eyeballs
and on your skin, nourishing diet.
COUNSELING:
Sometimes we need more support or a guide to help us overcome specific challenges on this crazy ride
we call life & motherhood. Counseling can be one of the best and most effective ways to deal with
difficult seasons. Below is a link for Dancy Perinatal Counseling. They specialize in postpartum,
pregnancy, infertility and loss support and they are all online or over the phone! I have used their
services personally and found so much benefit to the expert help specifically tailored to moms and birth
workers.
Obviously putting all of this into place is a long-term practice and we all have to find the things that work
for us and then tweak as we go along. But making these kinds of changes are what will actually change
our lives for the better, not just put a bandaid over a symptom. I hope you find some of this information
helpful. Please let me know if there are other methods or tools that have helped you feel better during
pregnancy and postpartum.
