Why do pregnant women cry so much?

It’s rare the women who don’t get caught crying for the most trivial of reasons during pregnancy🇧🇷 But is it all the fault of hormones? For the most part, yes! “If many women are already irritated and sensitive before menstruation, imagine during pregnancy, when there is a sudden increase in estrogen and progesterone levels”, says Luiz Fernando Dale, gynecologist and specialist in human reproduction, from Rio de Janeiro. These two hormones, which remain high until the ninth month, are able to sensitize even the toughest of pregnant women. “It’s unpredictable how each one will behave”, says Rosa Maria Neme, a gynecologist from São Paulo. But who said crying is a sign of a problem?

Just like any major change in life (marriage, divorce, job change), having a child brings up an avalanche of feelings – and that’s good. All mothers-to-be face questions, ranging from the practical (“Who will my son be with when I go back to work?”) to the emotional (“Will my little one suffer the same disappointments as me?”), says the psychologist Cynthia Boscovich. With heightened sensitivity, the pregnant woman turns to herself, to her own emotions and to her growing belly. This is how you connect with the baby that is coming and create the willingness to care for another human being, as explained by Argentine psychologist Laura Gutman, author of the book Maternity and the Meeting with the Own Shadow (Best Seller). Nature is wise. Give yourself to her and let the tears flow.

How the hormonal bombardment sharpens your sensitivity at every stage of pregnancy

first trimester

From the first few weeks, levels of estrogen and progesterone, two of the main hormones of pregnancy, begin to rise. Responsible for relaxing the uterus (avoiding contractions that would expel the embryo) and for increasing the vascularization of the region, the duo causes mood swings and contributes to the appearance of nausea, drowsiness, dizziness and colic. Who can stay zen with all this? “It is a period of intense body changes, and the pregnant woman is very sensitive in the first three months”, confirms the doctor Rogério Leão, from the Paulista Institute of Gynecology and Obstetrics, in São Paulo.

second trimester

Between the 20th and 24th week, hormones peak and level off. “A quieter phase begins there, in which the woman feels active and in a good mood”, says Rogério. As the belly grows, however, the tendency is for practical questions to torture the future mother: do I have the financial structure to receive a baby? Can my career take the brunt of the license? Will the health plan cover if there is an unforeseen event? These are important concerns, but they are overestimated due to the sensitivity of the moment.

Third quarter

The hormone load is sky high and anxiety starts to tighten as the delivery approaches. Not to mention the discomfort – the belly feels heavy, the feet swell, the back hurts, sleeping is difficult… You can predict the result: tiredness and irritability with a high possibility of tears.

Post childbirth

Contrary to what many first-time mothers imagine, instead of extreme happiness, it is quite common to feel sad after giving birth. “There is a sharp and sudden drop in progesterone, which can cause melancholy”, explains Rosa Maria Neme, gynecologist at the Centro de Endometriose São Paulo, in São Paulo. It’s the baby blue, sadness that appears between the third and tenth day after childbirth and affects 80% of pregnant women. But if this emotion persists for longer, it’s worth talking to the doctor.