Motherhood is a peaceful phase of a woman’s life, though it can be equally overwhelming. While you expect to celebrate and embrace the joy that comes with the new life, some mothers go through a tough stage in accepting this new life.
Typically, every mother experiences the ‘baby blues’ stage during or after her pregnancy. However, this phase disappears after some weeks, usually up to four weeks of giving birth.
If symptoms like sadness, hurting the infant, suicidal thoughts, and loss of appetite persists, then the mother has postpartum depression. It is a mental condition that a mother goes through after giving birth.
There may be no underlying causes of this condition since it can occur due to changes in the brain chemical of a mother. Sleep deprivation and pain as a result of giving birth can make postpartum depression even worse.
Doctors may prescribe various drugs to treat postpartum depression by helping a mother cope with anxiety, depressive thoughts, and promoting sleep. Nonetheless, these drugs might come with unpleasant effects. Such side effects push mothers with postpartum depression to look for natural treatment such as cannabis.
Cannabis – is it a safe treatment for postpartum depression?
Below are some of the ways that cannabis can help treat postpartum depression:
- Cannabis compounds, particularly CBD binds with CB1 and CB2
Presently, people are using medical marijuana to fight mental diseases. Anxiety and depression are amongst the most widespread psychological problems that affect many individuals. Some people suffer from these diseases for a lifetime. Anxiety and depression do not only affect your physical health; they typically affect your overall wellness.
Therefore, a mother with postpartum depression can consume cannabis to get better. Typically, cannabis works through its compounds, particularly CBD, to fight this condition.
CBD, one of the many cannabis compounds can bind with the CB2 and CB1 receptors in your body. CB1 and CB2 are part of the endocannabinoid system, and they help improve the functioning of different organs, as well as help balance hormone levels.
By doing so, they increase serotonin levels in your brain to bring calmness and help create a sense of euphoria. Also, it helps with the emotional wellness of mothers with postpartum depression.
Cannabis compounds can reduce stress levels and may act as effective antidepressants. Thus, CBD will naturally help treat depression and anxiety in your body.
- Cannabis help increase the levels of anandamide
Some mothers have an imbalance in progesterone and estrogen in their bodies. This causes mood swings that lead to decreased amounts of anandamide levels. Anandamide is a bliss compound in your body. So, a drop in anandamide levels makes a mother feel sad, dull, and numb.
Both CBD and THC will interact with your body to help fight these symptoms of postpartum depression. THC has a chemical structure that is the same as the chemical structure of anandamide. THC will work by duplicating the levels of anandamide in your body since it interacts with your receptors.
By raising the levels of anandamide, a mother with postpartum depression will experience the feeling of happiness and will have an interest in the things that happen in her life, including her newborn.
No doubt that THC and CBD will work together in your body to help fight depression. For that purpose thc delivery plays an important role as it saves time and you can get it at home without any hassle.THC will replace and take up the roles of anandamide, while CBD will work to preserve the levels of anandamide.
Several strains, including the top sativa strains that contains both THC and CBD, are available. Such strains are beneficial as they provide you with a mix that helps curb depression.
Nevertheless, make sure that you get a high-quality marijuana product so that you can achieve maximum benefits. It is crucial because many genuine and fake marijuana products exist now as more states are legalizing the use of cannabis.
- Cannabis helps with symptoms of postpartum depression
Postpartum depression shows in various symptoms, including loss of appetite, overwhelming tiredness, insomnia, and depressed mood. Hence, cannabis targets these symptoms while fighting postpartum depression.
THC dominant cannabis strains help relax the sore body and muscles; thus, you can achieve better sleep. Quality sleep is a significant factor in making sure that you have the needed energy to push throughout the day. It also fights excess tiredness.
Cannabis also causes ‘munchies.’ It boosts your appetite for you to eat well. A mother with postpartum depression will be able to feed her infant, and this strengthens her bond with the child. Also, she will have the needed vitamins, minerals, and other elements from food to stay healthy.
CBD helps in fighting pain. It is helpful because mothers, particularly those who have C-sections, experience a lot of pain, and this may affect their sleep and how they handle their kids. CBD also increases your energy levels to help a mother to attend to her child as needed.
Luckily, many cannabis-infused products with THC and CBD ratios like twisted extracts and capsules are available for you. It helps you choose the right product depending on the ratio you want. Also, some of the products are purely CBD-infused or THC-infused.
From the above, cannabis works to fight postpartum depression without causing side effects such as sexual dysfunction, sleepiness, and mood swings that come with some of the pharmaceutical drugs. Therefore, if you are struggling with postpartum depression, you can try cannabis, the natural alternative.
Conclusion
Cannabis work to affect your ECS in fighting depression. Also, it targets some of the symptoms of postpartum depression while treating this condition. It is crucial to know that cannabis provides anti-depressant effects by utilizing its compounds.
Take note of THC and CBD ratios when purchasing marijuana products. Start consuming cannabis at low dosages, especially if you are new to the products.
The effectiveness of cannabis may be different for different people because of ECSs. The strain that works for a certain mother may not work for you. Therefore, you can consult your health professional first before you consider using cannabis for postpartum depression.
