We need a healthy amount of cortisol and adrenaline in our systems but, when we are stressed – and really I should say as we are stressed (because we are all stressed to a certain degree), the adrenal glands respond by working harder and producing more. Your adrenal glands are above your kidneys – if you reach around to your low back area, that’s where they are, one on each side of your body – and they do a great job producing just the right amount of these substances, in the right balance at just the right time of day (more in the morning than at night). This schedule places an enormous stress on the body which responds by triggering the adrenal glands to release higher levels of cortisol and adrenaline in an attempt to try and help us deal with it. You are on call day and night, you rarely if ever get an unbroken night of sleep, and you are constantly on the go, taking care of baby as well as the rest of the family, the home. How Does “Mom Syndrome” Develop?Īs all moms know, having a new baby is exhausting. The first step is to recognize that it exists. Years of taking care of newborns, not getting great sleep, and not having much time for self-care take their toll – resulting in what I call “ mom syndrome.” Many moms have it – I had it for sure when my daughter was young – but it is possible to recover. In my practice as a naturopathic physician and midwife, I often find that the moms with whom I work have adrenal distress. Consequently, the more you do to optimize your own cortisol and adrenaline levels, and improve your ability to recover from stress, the better it is for your health and for your children.
I wrote about epigenetics in another post about oxidative stress as well if you’d like to learn more. The effect of stress is transferred to your baby, not just genetically, but “ epigenetically” as well, which means that your body’s ability to recover from stress will impact your baby’s health now and into the future.
It can affect your baby’s health as well because your stress exposure and cortisol and adrenaline levels influence your baby’s health while you are pregnant, while you are breastfeeding, and throughout his/her life. That is certainly true, but it is also important to know that adrenal distress can also affect the way you feel during and after pregnancy, even years after your baby or babies are born. In the previous article in this series on women’s health, Changing Views on Fertility and Pregnancy, I mentioned that, when trying to get pregnant, it is important to address imbalanced cortisol and adrenaline – what I refer to as adrenal distress – as they can affect ovarian function and therefore your ability to conceive. Doni explains why moms-to-be, new moms, and moms in general are particularly prone to adrenal distress, and what they can do to recover.
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