Maternity blues
Maternity blues, also known as baby blues and postpartum blues, is a transient condition that 75-80% of mothers could experience shortly after childbirth with a wide variety of symptoms which generally involve mood lability, tearfulness, and some mild anxiety and depressive symptoms. Baby blues is not postpartum depression, unless it is abnormally severe.After the placenta is delivered, the placental "hormone factory" shuts down causing radical changes in hormone levels, and the woman can suffer symptoms due to withdrawal from the high pregnancy levels of estrogen, progesterone and endorphins. Combined with this shift in hormone levels is the physical, mental and emotional exhaustion - as well as sleep deprivation typical of parenting a newborn. All of these factors contribute to the condition.
Parental brain
In the first few days after giving birth the levels of cortisol are high which correlates with maternal approach behavior and positive maternal attitudes. Mothers with high levels of cortisol were also found to be more vocal towards their children. Mothers who experienced adversity in their own childhood, had higher daily patterns of cortisol levels, and were less maternally sensitive.