Postpartum anxiety is very real. About 6% of pregnant women and 10% of postpartum women experience anxiety. And moms aren’t the only ones, dads do too. But why is postpartum anxiety worse at night? And what can you do about it?

Recommended reading: What Is Postpartum Anxiety? And Can It Be Prevented?

If your baby hasn’t started sleeping through the night, then you may be thinking, “when will my baby go to sleep, or how long will my baby sleep before I am woken up again.” This can keep you in a hyperaroused state and make it difficult to quiet your mind so you can fall asleep.

What is postpartum anxiety, (PPA) really? Is it the baby blues, is it like postpartum depression (PPD) or just a little worry about how to take care of your baby? In a lot of ways, it can include all three.

The baby blues affects about 80% of moms. It can start at about 2 or 3 days after delivery and can include mild anxiety. However, it only lasts about 2 -3 weeks.

Postpartum depression affects 1 in 5 new moms, and 1 in 10 new dads. Yep, I said dads! Anxiety and depression often go hand in hand before and after delivery.

I have yet to work with a client that doesn’t have some sort of combination of both.

Anxiety is a trademark symptom of postpartum depression.