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From navigating feeding to trying to function on very little sleep, new parenthood is a rollercoaster. And even if your baby decides to sleep through the night, there's no guarantee that you will—as one mum has explained in a hilarious video.
Amanda, who posts on Instagram under the name, That Comfy Mom, posted a video about how anxiety can keep you up all night, even if your child is sleeping soundly.
In the clip, she wakes up with a start to check the baby monitor, even though it is silent. She then gets back into bed and gets comfortable, before getting up again and again to check on her baby sleeping contentedly in the crib.
"You see I have this thing... It's called postpartum anxiety," she wrote in the caption.
Other mums have commented with their own experiences of anxiety and sleepless nights. One wrote: "For me it's the anticipation of possibly being woken up."
Another added: "Anyone else zoom in on the camera to see the rise and fall of their chest? No? Just me...?"
Someone else said: "Or I have weird dreams she's in the bed and I can't find her so I wake up in a panic looking for her. Even though she's asleep in her crib in her room."
Postpartum anxiety is something many parents experience. A 2021 study found around one-third of mums are believed to experience anxiety after having a baby, although the figure may be higher as not all women feel comfortable talking about their experiences.
For some mums, the panic hits straight away - and you might find yourself worrying about feeding and whether they are gaining weight, why they are crying so much and whether they are developing normally. For others, the worries just simply pile up over time, compounded by the exhaustion of sleepless nights.
Postpartum anxiety may spike due to hormonal changes, but it may also increase for all sorts of reasons, from your baby's health to your finances.
Sometimes, these worries subside over time. But they can also have a serious impact on your mental health, leading to poor sleep, stress and having a low mood. If you're struggling, it's important to seek professional help from your midwife, health visitor or a doctor.
If you have a parenting dilemma, let us know via life@newsweek.com. We can ask experts for advice, and your story could be featured in Newsweek.
