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Lucky are those who have an understanding husband! We’re sure most women would agree about this. However, being understanding could be quite a subjective statement. To be fair to husbands, most of them make a genuine attempt to understand and be there for their wives. Don’t believe us? Then you probably should ask your husband’s sisters or female friends. In all probability, they would have consulted them each time they hit a bumpy road when trying to understand you. And it gets even more difficult for those who grew up without a female sibling or best friend. While we do not expect men to understand a woman’s needs completely, some times knowing what she’s going through surely helps. One such situation is the postpartum phase of a woman. As such, women might drive their husbands crazy with their premenstrual symptoms like crankiness, mood swings, and unprovoked crying bouts. But, post-delivery, such things can go up by quite a few notches. So, if your wife has just delivered and is acting weird, here are a few things that could be the reasons behind it:
The Sleepless Nights…
Once your baby is born, he/she will have no clue about the day-night changes. The newborn will sleep and wake up at odd hours. And, haven’t we all heard from new moms about their newborns keeping them awake the whole night? These sleepless nights can last for a week or two depending on how quickly your baby’s natural body clock kicks in. Until then, the continuous sleepless nights can drive anyone crazy, let alone your wife.
To help her out, see if you can switch duties with her. If not on weekdays, try pitching in on weekends at least so she can have her forty winks of sleep.
The Strenuous Breastfeeding Sessions…
One thing that contributes to your wife’s sleepless nights apart from the baby’s crying is the breastfeeding sessions. Newborns usually wake up at odd hours for a feed, sleep for a short while only to wake up again. Breastfeeding is, by no means, easy at all. If anything, it is painful on the nipples (initially), can hurt the back (until she gets a perfect position), and can be emotionally draining too at times.
You might think there’s nothing much you could do here. But you could try giving her a gentle shoulder or back massage after each feeding session. However, if your wife wants to give breast pumping a shot, then you can pitch in to feed the breast milk from the bottle. Mind you, breast pumping is not easy either. But it creates an opportunity for your baby to bond with you at a provider/caregiver level.
The Dilly-Dallying Hormones…
怀孕is a hormonally-charged process. It not only alters a woman’s body but disrupts her well-positioned hormones. With all the sleepless nights and tiring feeding sessions, pregnancy hormones going haywire only add to your wife’s misery. She might get aggressive at one moment only to end up crying at the very next one.
While the hormones will take their time to come back to normal, make sure your wife continues taking her vitamins on time. If things don’t seem to settle or your wife looks exceedingly depressed by the day, book an appointment with her gynec immediately.
The Wounds And The Healing…
Yes, all that childbirth and labor pains do leave some scars behind. Your wife might not discuss all this as she’ll be focusing on the baby. However, her body needs a lot of time to recover. Usually, postpartum women are asked to rest for at least 40 days or until the bleeding recedes. However, if your wife seems to be in distress due to extended bleeding, it means she needs to see her doctor sooner than later.
If at all you wish to help your wife out in this matter, then ensure she gets some well-deserved rest in between caring for the baby and keeping up with her household duties. Get a good domestic help to take off some of the housekeeping pressure. Whenever your wife rests or sleeps, see if she can raise her legs by keeping some pillows underneath. An occasional light massage will also help her relax and keep her in a better mood.
We hope these insights into your wife’s condition serves as a good thumbnail to refer back to. However, even after a month or so, if your wife continues to be in distress, don’t delay in seeing her doctor.
