Assignment: I/O Psychologist

Physical Adjustments A woman’s body makes numerous physical adjustments in the first days and weeks after childbirth (Durham & Chapman, 2014). She may have a great deal of energy or feel exhausted and let down. Though these changes are normal, the fatigue can undermine the new mother’s sense of well-being and confidence in her ability to cope with a new baby and a new family life (Runquist, 2007). A concern is the loss of sleep that the primary caregiver experiences in the postpartum period (Bei, Coo, & Trinder, 2015; Thomas & Spieker, 2016). In the 2007 Sleep in America survey, a substantial percentage of women reported loss of sleep during pregnancy and in the postpartum period (National Sleep Foundation, 2007). The loss of sleep can contribute to stress, marital conflict, and impaired decision making (Meerlo, Sgoifo, & Suchecki, 2008). A recent study, though, linked postpartum depression to poor-quality sleep (such as disrupted, fragmented sleep) rather than to lesser amounts of sleep (Park, Meltzer-Brody, & Stickgold, 2013). After delivery, the mother’s body undergoes sudden and dramatic changes in hormone production. When the placenta is delivered, estrogen and progesterone levels drop steeply and remain low until the ovaries start producing hormones again. Involution is the process by which the uterus returns to its prepregnant size five or six weeks after birth. Immediately following birth, the uterus weighs 2 to 3 pounds. By the end of five or six weeks, the uterus weighs 2 to 3½ ounces. Nursing the baby helps contract the uterus at a more rapid rate.