Maternal hypervigilance is a sleep disorder that can appear after childbirth. This is one of the symptoms of the baby blues, a phenomenon that would affect up to 70% of young mothers and which can occur with the hormonal drop: “Moms are tired, feel incompetent in their new role, overwhelmed by this new responsibility, but also feel guilt, nervousness and excitement”, explains Dalila Pilot Hammoud, clinical psychologist specializing in perinatal care. Maternal hypervigilance can be added to these different signs.
How does maternal hypervigilance manifest itself?
Moms who suffer from maternal hypervigilance constantly monitor their baby even if it means no longer sleeping for fear that something will happen to him. This is what Justine, 24, experienced after giving birth a year ago: “I was on the alert at the slightest cry or noise from my daughter. In the evening, every movement in her cradle prevented me from falling asleep serenely. I ended up being completely. insomniac“, she says.
Exhausted, mothers take care of their child mechanically, without taking pleasure. They endure their motherhood. “I felt like I was in a prison and had become a robot whose only mission was to watch my daughter”, remembers Justine. That is why it is important to pay special attention to these manifestations. “If this phenomenon lasts for the time of the baby blues, in other words about a week, there is nothing to worry about. If it lasts beyond that, you have to get help, because it can be ‘a postpartum depression“, indicates the psychologist.
How to spot maternal hypervigilance?
It is completely normal to be anxious after the birth of your child. And for good reason : “This new role of mother is not innate and requires a lot of learning”, explains Dalila Pilot Hammoud. But if this anxiety takes disproportionate proportions and is accompanied by other manifestations, it may be maternal hypervigilance. “I thought I had gone completely crazy. I was totally dependent on my daughter’s survival. I told myself that if I didn’t hear everything that was going on, something would necessarily happen to her,” remembers Justine.
The signs that can identify maternal hypervigilance are as follows:
- mothers do not sleep despite exhaustion;
- they watch their baby constantly and everything becomes a threat. “For example, they can panic when someone is carrying their baby”, explains Dalila Pilot Hammoud.
- they are in a state of hypersensitivity where everything is exacerbated whether it is on the auditory, visual or tactile level. “They become attentive to the slightest noise, watch the baby’s breathing…”, details the psychologist.
Maternal hypervigilance: what are the causes of this disorder?
The causes of maternal hypervigilance are varied, but this disorder can be linked to a pregnancy or a difficult childbirth, marked by an emergency cesarean for example. It can then be a symptom of post-traumatic stress disorder.
Maternal hypervigilance also depends on the emotional fragility of the mother and can thus be linked to childhood or to the course of each. “This phenomenon occurs more in those who have no relay and who are isolated”, notes Dalila Pilot Hammoud.
What are the consequences of maternal hypervigilance?
The main consequence of maternal hypervigilance is postpartum depression, a special form of depression that occurs after childbirth and affects about 10% of new mothers. Maternal hypervigilance is also the cause of sleep debt, a state of physical and psychological exhaustion and chronic anxiety. “You have to be vigilant because it can quickly become a vicious circle”, explains the psychologist.
Left unaddressed, these anxieties can develop into maternal impulse phobias, an obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) characterized by fear of committing violence. “Young mothers are afraid of harming their child. For example, they may fear giving him a bath or dropping him from the changing table when changing his diaper.”, details Dalila Pilot Hammoud.
Maternal hypervigilance: how to deal with it?
If the mother’s hypervigilance lasts more than a week, it is essential to speak to a health professional, whether it is the attending physician, the pediatrician or the midwife. The latter will be able to redirect the young mother to a psychologist specializing in perinatal care, who will submit a questionnaire to diagnose postpartum depression and help her overcome her anxieties. “In case of deeper depression, the psychologist may redirect his patient to a psychiatrist for drug management. But generally, listening, kindness and certain natural treatments are enough “, says Dalila Pilot Hammoud.
In addition to this psychological follow-up, it is essential for young mothers who suffer from maternal hypervigilance to take time for themselves. The psychologist suggests, for example, to go out for a 30-minute walk alone so as not to watch the baby and thus free up some psychic space. “Being a good mother is not spending 100% of your time with your baby, it is taking time for yourself in order to feel good with your child and to welcome their children as well as possible. emotions“, she assures.
Can fathers suffer from hypervigilance?
Like postpartum depression, hypervigilance can affect fathers. However, “this phenomenon is still underestimated by health professionals and sometimes denied by men themselves. Symptoms in fathers are not well defined, but the discomfort is very real and must be addressed at the same title than that of the mother “, concludes the psychologist.
thanks to Dalila Pilot Hammoud, clinical psychologist specializing in perinatal care.
Read also :
⋙ Post-partum depression: “When my daughter was born, I told myself that I would never be happy again”
⋙ Childbirth: these essential measures to improve postpartum conditions
⋙ Postpartum depression and baby blues: how to differentiate them?