Nutrition & Postpartum Depression

Postpartum depression is like almost every other example of depression and anxiety in at least one important respect: It makes you crave sweets and carbohydrates, the very foods that will make you feel worse!

Sweets and carbs only contribute to a roller-coaster blood sugar level. Keeping a balanced blood sugar level is very important in keeping a balanced emotional level as well.

Postpartum depression makes many things difficult, so it is important that you allow others (and guide others) to help you. Ask your partner, a friend, or a family member to shop for you and to stock your refrigerator with the kinds of healthy, easy-to-prepare foods that will help you, not just satisfy a momentary and destructive craving.

Here’s a list of just a few of the things you might want to have available for meals and snacks:

* Yogurt

* Sliced (low-sodium) deli meats, such as roast turkey

* Cheese

* Hardboiled eggs

* Precut veggies (like carrots, broccoli, and celery sticks) with a nice, light dip

* Fruit (a good source of sweetness without the refined sugars)

Of course, if you are looking at this and feeling a vague sense of nausea because you cannot even imagine putting a morsel of food in your mouth (lack of appetite is very common for women with PPD), consider drinking your nutrients. Protein drinks and unsweetened fruit drinks are great. Try to steer clear of caffeinated beverages, though.