Postpartum hormones, progesterone & what to expect after birth, and how to heal naturally

“I’m just riding the waves of the hormones”, my girlfriend said after her second child at age 40.

She knew what to expect… but when it’s your first child or after a twin birth; the hormone crash can feel extreme.

And, the biggest drop happens when you’re done breastfeeding.

Plus, it takes two years to restore your progesterone. Two years!!

Read that again 👆

In this post, we'll discuss what happens to your hormones after childbirth and the seven steps you can begin to take to balance them naturally.

Postpartum hormones Timeline breastfeeding

• Let’s take two moms for an example.

• #1 The first momma is breastfeeding, so:

  • Prolactin (the hormone responsible for lactation) and

  • Oxytocin (the hormone that helps the uterus contract) is higher than the mom who has weaned her child. 

• So, it's possible- like my girlfriend, that this mom’s symptoms are not extreme.  Not yet anyway!

• Mom #2, who has weaned her child, and/or her cycle has returned.

  • Her estrogen and progesterone are increasing rapidly due to the ceasing of nursing.

  • And, her symptoms may be extreme; especially if she can't excrete the excessive estrogen fast enough. {a.k.a. estrogen dominance}

  • Plus, cortisol may be high due to the sleepless nights.

The majority of our postpartum symptoms are due to:

1. High cortisol and we’re unable to lower this due to stress and sleeplessness

2. Thyroid; you could have hyper or hypothyroid within the first six months after childbirth.

3. High estrogen or

4. Low progesterone {read more below}

Signs of hormone imbalance after pregnancy

• You may notice...

  • extreme highs and lows in your mood

  • Insomnia - everyone else is sleeping except you

  • hot and cold feelings

  • rapid heartbeats

  • anxiety (not really panic attacks, just feelings of extreme overwhelm at times)

  • frequent illness (always sick...the kids are petri dishes!)

  • Tired at 3 pm (or even noon)

  • Waking up tired

  • Needing caffeine throughout the day

Hormone imbalance 1 year after childbirth

After one year, you may still be struggling with these symptoms due to estrogen dominance, poor liver health, blood sugar dysregulation, or from living in fight or flight for so long.

How long do postpartum hormones last?

““It could take up to two years for a woman’s progesterone to normalize after each pregnancy.” ”

— Burrell Education

But, we can’t blame the hormones necessarily.

• -These hormonal changes are necessary for lactation, uterine recovery, and emotional adjustment.

• -The primary hormones in the postpartum period are estrogen, progesterone, prolactin, oxytocin, and thyroid hormones.

7 Ways to Balance Your Postpartum Hormones

1. Blood Sugar Regulation

   1. Eating a balanced diet filled with fruits, vegetables, proteins, soaked whole grains, and healthy fats can help balance your blood sugar, reduce inflammation, and support your hormones.

   2. Look into the Blood Type Diet, Mediterranean Diet, and Hormone Intelligence by Dr. Aviva Romm

   3. Additionally, we need to STOP drinking coffee on an empty stomach! Not being hungry is a sign of increased cortisol, blood sugar dysregulation, and sluggish liver.

2. Fill nutrient gaps

   1. Many women struggle with low Vitamin D, Vitamin C, Zinc, Omega 3s, and poor gut health after childbirth.

   2. Supplements can help fill the nutrient gaps and improve progesterone levels sooner.

3. Sleep

   1. Sleep is crucial for hormone regulation and usually, it’s the first thing to go when having children.

   2. Don’t be afraid to ask for help! If you’re not sleeping, you’re not healing.

   3. Add in Magnesium Glycinate at night to help restore your sleep. Additionally, there are many botanicals you can use; even if you’re breastfeeding to help restore your sleep.

4. Stress

   1. Deep breathing, yoga, or mindfulness can help reduce your stress.

   2. In my online course, The Present Momma - we use the adaptogens + nervine combination to help restore your sleep.

5. Sweat/Exercise

   1. I stopped sweating after I had twins.

   2. Sweating is important for healing your body, reducing toxins, and releasing cortisol.

   3. Take the kids outside daily dose of Vitamin D and Fresh air!

   4. Make walking a sport.

   5. Join a gym and lift weights.

   6. Seek out a sauna to start sweating again. Your mental health is important! And exercising can boost those feel-good hormones to make motherhood easier.

      1. Read my story on using Higher Dose to heal>>https://www.taragregorio.com/blog/honest-review-of-higher-dose

6. Herbal Remedies

   1. Depending on your unique symptoms and if you’re breastfeeding or not; you can add in botanicals to help reduce anxiety, and depression, enhance sleep, and even reduce your anger!

   2. Begin tracking your cycle to see where your symptoms begin.

7. Stop drinking alcohol

   1. Quitting drinking is the fastest way to improve your sleep and your gut health.

   2. Your liver is working overtime right now, processing all the hormones.

      1. Alcohol affects our liver health and makes us angry. This is the first thing to remove if you’re still drinking.

Supplements to balance hormones after pregnancy

Supplements can help fill the gap of any nutrient deficiencies.

Where do you start?

• You can start with my 11 Postpartum supplements every mom should take: https://taragregorio.com/11-postpartum-vitamin-supplements-every-new-mom-should-have/

• Then consider adding in herbal remedies like The ONE daily tea blend: https://taragregorio.com/theonedaily-tea-blend/

• Next, consider adding in botanicals based on your unique needs and symptoms

 Additionally, you may have low progesterone….

17 Signs of low progesterone

• No ovulation, irregular cycle

• Heavy periods, blood clots

• long menstrual cycles (>35 days)

• short luteal phase {ovulation to menstruation <12 days}

• anxiety, depression

• PMS

• constipation

• cyclic breast pain

• Low basal temperature in the luteal phase

• endometriosis

• fertility problems

• insomnia, can’t sleep especially on days 14-28

• irregular menstrual cycle

• Irritability and anger before your period

• low libido

• miscarriages

• spotting in the second half of your cycle

  How to boost your progesterone naturally

• Honestly, I have tried everything to boost my progesterone over the years.

• You can search out foods and supplements to support you and they do help until you reach peri-menopause.

• The fastest way, I’ve found to boost progesterone is to add bio-identical progesterone to my skin topically from Day 14-28. Of course, check with your doctor first.

  • I started with Emerita's progest and then moved to a cream from a compounding pharmacy in New Jersey, based on a doctor’s suggestion.

  • Check with your doctor if you’re breastfeeding.

Postpartum Insomnia

• If you’re struggling with blood clots, insomnia, and anger before your period; it’s possible your progesterone is low.

• Most likely, your doctor will try to offer you progestin NOT progesterone.

• Read that again.. it’s a difference between 4 letters but the effects are life-changing!

• By adding wild yam or what’s known as bio-identical progesterone on days 14-28 OR when you feel you need it - you're sleep and mood may improve.

• Check with your doctor if you’re breastfeeding.

If you’re not sleeping… check out this post:https://www.taragregorio.com/blog/postpartum-insomnia-5-life-changing-herbal-remedies

Blood Clots

• Using a bioidentical progesterone cream from Day 14-28 has REDUCED blood clots faster than any other remedy I’ve tried.

Out-of-pocket tests for hormone balance

• Moms feel more confident when they know what’s going on in their body and unfortunately, the doctors are not always able to perform the tests we’re seeking these days. Dutch Hormone Test

• Here are some tests my clients and I have taken over the years to self-diagnose ourselves.

  • Thorne Gut Health, Sleep or Stress Test to see if you have high cortisol:https://www.thorne.com/at-home-tests

  • Dutch Hormone Test - to see if your progesterone is low

    • My friend and nutritionist, Sabrina Sarabella can order and read the results for you.

Conclusion

Your hormones after birth are an example of what you may have been experiencing before. For example, if you’ve always been estrogen-dominant, this may continue after birth with symptoms of low progesterone.

Diet is always first, then supplements, then herbal remedies, and gut healing can help you feel balanced again.

My clients find the testing helps them understand their hormone and stress levels so they can take the next steps.

xo, Tara

P.S. What do you think? Have you tried to test your hormones before? What did you discover? Let me know in the comment areas below.