Postpartum hormonal changes

#33. In this Mother's Day episode you'll learn about how hormones change after you... become a mother! There are a lot of hormonal changes during pregnancy and postpartum of course. Understanding what those changes are can be helpful in navigating the journey and looking forward to things leveling out after a bit of time. 

Today we discuss:
- Hormonal changes after birth
- Estrogen, progesterone, prolactin, thyroid, and cortisol
- Testing considerations with trouble shooting
- Recommendations for optimal hormone health postpartum

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Chapters

• 0:05 Understanding Postpartum Hormone Changes
• 9:58 Postpartum Hormone Health and Wellness

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:05

Welcome to I'm Hormonal, your source of information about women's hormone health and how to support your body. Naturally, I'm your host, bridget Walton, and I'm a certified functional hormone specialist and menstrual cycle coach. I am on a mission to hold these hormone conversations with as many menstruators as possible because you deserve easier access to accurate information about what's up with your unruly menstrual cycle and with your fertility mysteries. Don't you think it's time that we figure this out once and for all? On today's show, we are going to be talking about the basics of postpartum hormone changes. So if you're somebody who is a mother, if you want to be a mother one day, if you have a friend or a sister or anybody in your life who is going through or about to go through the postpartum period, then I think this episode will be really insightful for you in understanding like why do we have such big changes in mood and other symptoms, other experiences, during that time of life? So I wanted to talk about this today because, of course, mother's Day is coming up this weekend. So happy Mother's Day. To all of you mamas out there. I want to say welcome, and also welcome to you even if you're not a mother just like me, or I'm a cat mom, which doesn't quite count, but welcome. Thanks for listening. I'm so glad that you found me here. I started this podcast last year because I think it's really important to share what we know, or what I know, about hormone health and how you can understand what's happening in your body and why, but, most importantly, what you can do to impact those things, because there really are so many ways that you can impact how you feel and your body's health for the positive, so we will get into some of that. A quick reminder is always that the information I share with you today is for educational purposes only, and it should not be used as a replacement for any sort of one-on-one support from a certified practitioner or healthcare provider. With that being said, though, if you are in the market to work with somebody one-on-one, then just a reminder to you that I do work with clients one-on-one, and you can check out the link in the show notes to connect with me and set up a quick call. You can also check out a link in the show notes if you want to connect with me on Instagram or if you want to check out my website, so all the good stuff will be there for you.

Speaker 1: 2:36

Alrighty, with that out of the way, let's dive into the good stuff. Why don't we? We're going to talk through what are the fluctuations postpartum for your hormones. We'll talk about a couple of hormone-related changes with regards to lactating or breastfeeding. We'll talk about thyroid changes. We'll talk about tests If you need to do any troubleshooting, what tests may you want to consider? And then we'll wrap it up with a couple of recommendations. So this won't be a super, super long episode. It'll just be a shorty cutie, since we're just hitting on the basics.

Speaker 1: 3:15

But let's start with what's going on hormone-wise during pregnancy, so that we can then move to postpartum. So, during pregnancy, your estrogen levels are really high, as well as your progesterone levels, and we know that estrogen is a hormone that helps us to build and grow. When we're not pregnant, it's helping us to grow a good endometrial lining. Progesterone is the hormone that helps us to nourish our baby in there and help them grow, and so those are the two hormones that go up really high during pregnancy. Naturally, then, as you may be guessing, once you have your baby, there's going to be a pretty drastic drop in both estrogen and progesterone. So estrogen, though it has many, many good benefits for us. It has a kind of like addictive behavior to it, and so that drastic change in levels that can result in the sort of like withdrawal and that can result in these mood changes or the baby blues, right. So when gals have the baby blues or postpartum depression, gals have the baby blues or postpartum depression, it's generally because of this drastic drop in estrogen. Progesterone, though, is also you know, it's a hormone that helps us to feel good and feel calm. It's really beneficial for mood, and so, with the absence of progesterone, that doesn't really help the situation either.

Speaker 1: 4:44

On the silver lining, though, it's important to note that this is only temporary. For sure, within about three to six months after you have your baby, you can expect that your hormones will be coming back to normal, that you'll start cycling again. Of course, this depends too on how long know. How long are you breastfeeding, for if you're breastfeeding at all, so know that that will play a factor in it. We'll get more into that, but I just really want to put the exclamation mark on this that this is temporary. If you are going through this, or if somebody that you know is going through this, then hopefully you will find that, knowing that you know the knowledge that this is not forever, that your hormones will shift back. That that gives you some hope.

Speaker 1: 5:30

You know, in moving past that chapter, another thing that changes when or post-birth, postpartum can be with your thyroid. So this only affects about three to eight percent of women. But postpartum thyroiditis is something that you may have heard of and basically what happens is that first your thyroid produces a lot of hormones and then it kind of overcorrects and it produces too little. So if you've been through this before, you may remember that when your thyroid is really producing a lot of hormones, then you might be feeling like warm, right, your temperature will go up. You might have experienced some weight loss. You might be feeling more anxious when your thyroid hormone levels are high. In contrast, when your thyroid stops producing so much hormones and levels are low, that can result in you being like tired and fatigued. You could be really sensitive to the cold. Also, you could be gaining weight during that time. So something to think of, and if you have Hashimoto's or another thyroid condition, then your risk of finding yourself in a situation does go up a little bit. So do something to be aware of and to bring up in conversation with your healthcare provider or with whoever is a part of your support system, so that you can be aware of it and monitor it.

Speaker 1: 7:01

Moving on from the thyroid hormones, another hormone that will, with certainty, go up is prolactin, and prolactin is the hormone that helps you to produce milk for your new baby. So prolactin climbs up, and it is this hormone that is really the, I guess, catalyst or what's opposite of a catalyst that prevents you from starting your period again. So this can happen in other stages of life too, but know that when prolactin is high, you're not going to be ovulating. Eventually, though, when prolactin levels start to lower and, as a rule of thumb, or that I found in a research article, once you are breastfeeding three or fewer times a day, that seems to be like kind of a triggering point for your body to really produce less prolactin, and then you might start cycling again. Also, right anecdotally, I'm familiar with a lot of women who, once they start feeding their kiddo solid food or just anything other than milk, they'll notice that their own supply starts going down and that their cycle starts again, however shortly thereafter. So a couple of timing notes around prolactin.

Speaker 1: 8:15

Okay, so, just as a quick overview of the couple of hormones that we just talked about. Once you're postpartum, your estrogen levels and progesterone will drop really drastically. Your postpartum, your estrogen levels and progesterone will drop really drastically. Your thyroid is going to potentially rev up and then slow down, and that would be postpartum thyroiditis. It's not necessarily the case for everybody only three to 8% of gals but for everybody. Prolactin levels will go up and then, after a couple of months or as you taper off breastfeeding, those levels will go down again and you will begin cycling. And that after a couple of months or as you taper off breastfeeding, those levels will go down again and you will begin cycling. And that's when you'll just be going through the normal menstrual cycle. If you need a quick recap on what goes on during a normal menstrual cycle, then check out episode number 31, which was from April 2024, the basics of your cycle and hormone fluctuations, and that'll get you caught up.

Speaker 1: 9:06

Let's take a moment to look at what nutrients are really important in the postpartum period and then we'll move on to talking about testing, in case you are looking to troubleshoot anything. So, postpartum, a couple of nutrients that you're going to want to focus on include the five following iron, vitamin D, magnesium, zinc and B6. These will be important to help nourish your body, in addition to eating a wide variety of whole foods. That will help to nourish not only you, but the milk that you're producing for your child. You've got a lot, or your body has a lot, that it's trying to do with nourishing yourself, nourishing your baby and also healing from the birth itself. So take just as good of care of your own body and your own diet as you will for your little babies.

Speaker 1: 9:58

One other honorable mention here is protein. Don't sleep on the protein. Protein is really essential, but it can be easy to miss out on because carbs are oftentimes well, just easier to grab. They're more available on the shelves to just grab high carb items, but, regardless, protein is going to be really important for your recovery. When you're looking for supplements, or if there is any, you know, outside of what I just listed, of iron, vitamin D, magnesium, zinc and B6,. If you're looking for supplements, or if there is any, you know, outside of what I just listed, of iron, vitamin d, magnesium, zinc and b6. If you're looking for something else, you probably know this from checking labels while you were pregnant, but there are a lot of things that you're going to want to avoid herbs and otherwise while you are breastfeeding. So so just as a friendly reminder I'm sure you're on top of this, but just be aware of what you will want to avoid during your breastfeeding or during the time that you're breastfeeding as well.

Speaker 1: 10:57

Let's look for a moment at different testing options, in case you're looking to troubleshoot something or things feel a little bit off and you want to get some more information. So, when it comes to milk production, you would do a test for prolactin. So this is something that you could do with your primary care provider or with whoever else is a part of your support system postpartum, and they'll know that too. But anyway, prolactin is what you're going to want to check into for milk, like any milk troubleshooting. Let's say, when it comes to your thyroid, you'll want to talk to your provider about looking at TSH, which is thyroid stimulating hormone, as well as T4 and T3. Both thyroid and prolactin hormones are going to be tested through your blood. Both thyroid and prolactin hormones are going to be tested through your blood.

Speaker 1: 11:51

And then, if you are, you know, let's say, if you are three months postpartum, you're not breastfeeding and you still don't have a cycle, or if it's been a couple months, things are you know, your cycle just isn't coming back like you normally would, then I think that would be a good time to consider doing a Dutch test to understand where your hormone level's at and also factoring in stress, right? You surely don't need me to tell you that maybe your stress levels will go up a bit when you have a new, whole, entire human to assess what's going on here and how do we move forward to get your hormones back on track. On the note of getting hormones back on track, it's certainly worth reminding you that it is entirely possible to get pregnant again before your first period postpartum, right? Because before that bleed actually comes, you will ovulate, right? So maybe you are five months postpartum and you have intercourse and then you become pregnant before you even have a new period. You see how that can come into play. You see how that can come into play. It will benefit your body.

Speaker 1: 13:15

To space out pregnancies by three years is a rule of thumb that I've been taught, and the reason for that is because it takes a little while for your body to replenish your minerals and replenish all of your nutrients and heal and be ready to build a whole new human again. So, that being said, yes, of course, there are tons of you know. You know people. I know people who have had babies closer together than three years and they have completely healthy kiddos. But, for whatever it's worth, as the rule of thumb, three years is what's in the textbooks.

Speaker 1: 13:51

We're just about ready to wrap up here, and I wanted to close out with a couple of recommendations, some of which we've touched on, but a couple of new ones as well. So if you are in your postpartum period, then it's a really good idea to focus on nourishing your body, putting in good, high quality food, including iron, vitamin D, magnesium, zinc, b6, and focusing on the protein. Don't sleep on the protein, my girl. It's also, you know, when we are thinking about stress and what can you do to help alleviate some of your stress thinking of exercising and moving your body a little bit. Once you're cleared, you can also think of incorporating breathing exercises that can help to just relax your nervous system when stress is heightened.

Speaker 1: 14:43

Another thing that can be good to reduce stress is just working on getting a routine in place for you and for baby. I think, along with that, it's probably worth mentioning like setting some good boundaries, setting boundaries with you know, family, or with friends or whoever whatever sort of boundary that can help you protect your rest and protect your sanity. One more thing here when it comes to stress levels, be considering how you can go outside in the morning to get some sun exposure early on and then in the evening after sunset keep the lights low, and so that'll help your circadian rhythm to stick in place. I know you're thinking Bridget circadian rhythm, who cares? Because you're up, you know, every couple of hours, but that can still be something that'll help your body feel a little bit better. If you're somebody who is working through a thyroiditis situation, then consider an anti-inflammatory diet and focus on gut health, and that's something that can be beneficial if you're trying to overcome a thyroid situation, although certainly more specific recommendations can be given depending on your exact situation. A final thing here would be to consider doing pelvic floor physical therapy, which can be really helpful in that postpartum period. Surely that's not exactly hormone related, but can help you feel better sooner.

Speaker 1: 16:16

And yeah, I think I'll just close it off by saying, like, make sure, gals, that you're taking just as great care of your own body as you will for your babies. Your health is really important. Like your. Like your being in good health will help you to better support your baby. So don't forget about yourself. Don't forget about yourself. Check in on your friends, see how they're doing, see how you can support them, and you know it really takes a village. So know that you're not alone in going through this hormonal change, which will bring some lower moods than other parts of your life, but it's all. It's just a phase and you'll move out of it and you've got a community to support you.

Speaker 1: 17:02

So if you found this conversation to be helpful, I would love it if you would consider sending it to a friend or to your sister. I hope that she will appreciate it and I know that I would really help, or I would really appreciate it if you would help to grow the I'm Hormonal community. You can also consider subscribing to I'm Hormonal if you want these episodes to show up automatically in your feed. You can always rate and review as well. Now. Thank you so much for listening. I'm so grateful for you being here, especially for those of you who have made it all the way to the end here. So thanks again and I will see you here next week.