Fatigue May Predict Depression

Feeling exhausted on the 14th day after giving birth makes it 50 percent more likely a new mom will suffer from postpartum depression by day 28, according to a new study.

Feeling exhausted on the 14th day after giving birth makes it 50 percent more likely a new mom will suffer from postpartum depression by day 28, according to a new study. To prevent fatigue, study author Elizabeth Corwin, Ph.D., advises that all new mothers, not just nursing moms, continue taking prenatal vitamins for at least three months and that they ask their doctors to check their iron level. "In some studies, women with increased fatigue were anemic," she says, "and if they weren't anemic, they had low iron." Pain control also helps combat fatigue. "If you had an episiotomy, use sitz baths and cold compresses to relieve perineal tenderness," Corwin says. "And enlist help with your newborn so you can get some rest."