I'm in the first few weeks postpartum and I'm experiencing anxiety. How can I manage it, especially with visitors?

Becoming a mother for the first time is a transformative and life-changing experience that has a profound impact on the lives of both a woman and her partner. This new stage of life will be accompanied by hormonal changes, shifts in routines, changes in family dynamics, and changes in priorities. Our lives will be completely different, and it will transform the entire family system.

When a baby is born, not only is a mother and father born, but a family is born as well, including grandparents and even aunts and uncles. If there are more children, a brother or sister will also be born.

Sometimes integrating all these changes isn't easy. It's very important that each family member understands their primary role . In the case of the mother, her priority is, or should be, caring for the baby and herself, and for that, the mother's partner plays a fundamental role. His main role is to care for the mother and baby and be their support.

The families of origin of each parent will also have a significant influence on the new family that has been created. Their logistical and emotional support is fundamental, but it is very important that they understand that their role is to provide the support that the parents have indicated they need and to respect the pace and decisions that the new parents make regarding raising the children.

It's natural to expect that family members will want to visit the newborn and be part of their life, but if visits from family and friends are causing stress, it's important to communicate this and, if necessary, agree on a realistic visiting schedule for the mother. The immediate postpartum period is a time when women generally need little social interaction and prefer the calm of their immediate family. At the same time, sleep is a vital need, and visits can sometimes interfere with it. My recommendation is that if the mother is asleep, she shouldn't be woken up to attend to visitors.

It's also important to consider that, in the current pandemic situation, many women feel particularly uncomfortable with visits. They have sometimes also received instructions from their pediatricians to restrict them.

Respecting the mother's needs and the decisions the couple has made regarding parenting is very important and will prevent an escalation of family tensions.