Hormones plus stress = baby blues

DALLAS, July 10 (UPI) -- A U.S. psychologist says emotional swings in new moms -- called the "baby blues" -- are quite common.

Dr. Anna Brandon -- staff psychologist of the Women's Mental Health Center at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas -- said symptoms include crying spells, sadness, irritability and difficulty sleeping.

"A woman who has just given birth experiences hormonal changes which may compound stressors such as financial or relationship problems, anxiety about motherhood or a lack of support, leaving a new mother more vulnerable to sadness," Brandon says in a statement.

To cope with these feelings, Brandon suggests new moms ask for help with motherhood's physical and emotional demands from a partner or family, friends or support groups. Getting enough sleep is also important.

If "baby blues" symptoms last longer than two weeks and keep a new mother from functioning well, a healthcare provider should be contacted right away. Longer duration and greater intensity of symptoms could indicate an episode of major depressive disorder with a post-partum onset.

"Although the baby blues generally resolve in a few days, post-partum depressive episodes beg attention to ensure the physical and emotional well-being of mother and child," Brandon says.