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.
Maternal healthcare in Texas
Postpartum care is the provision of healthcare services upon delivery and mirrors prenatal care services. Postpartum care is offered both for the physical and mental repercussions that may result after delivery. The Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System is one way of gauging the mental health of women after delivery, and is used by hospitals in the state of Texas. In 2003, Texas passed the Postpartum Depression to Pregnant Women Act, requiring healthcare professionals to equip women with information on accessing organizations that provide counseling and postpartum guidance. This act also urged the consideration of insurance coverage and other economic factors in providing women with postpartum care.