Top 10 Best Essential Oils for Postpartum Depression: Guide & Reviews 2019

Depression is not a kind of mental illness that should be taken lightly, and anyone can be affected by it, especially on mothers. If you don’t have depression even the slightest form of it, you might experience one after giving birth to your child. This condition is called postpartum depression and every mother will get to experience it.

Some experts claim that postpartum depression has a direct effect on the baby’s behavior and growth, and it could range from mild to severe. Usually the depression last within a few days or up to two weeks, but in some cases, it can last for months or years. Therefore, you might want to use essential oils for depression.

What is Postpartum Depression?

Like what we have mentioned earlier, postpartum depression is a common medical condition that occurs on mothers after giving birth. Since this kind of illness has the potential to cause harmful effect on both mother and baby, it is important to find a treatment plan to prevent postpartum depression from getting worse.

Since you’ll have to breastfeed your child, taking in anti-depression pills are not an option as it could pass into your breast milk. Therefore, the best way that you can treat this mental condition is by curing it with natural treatments, and one of those natural treatments are essential oils.

What are the Signs and Symptoms?

Giving birth to a baby can trigger all kinds of powerful emotions inside you, it may include joy, excitement, fear, and even anxiety. However, it could also result in something you might not expect, and that is depression.

New mothers might experience “baby blues” after labor, which usually breaks into symptoms like crying, anxiety, and difficulties in sleeping. Baby blues commonly begins within the first few days after delivery and could last for two weeks or longer. But if it lasts for months or years, it would then be called postpartum depression.

To understand more about baby blues and postpartum depressions, here are the signs and symptoms of it:

Baby Blues Signs and Symptoms

• Sadness
• Anxiety
• Mood swings
• Irritability
• Crying
• Trouble Sleeping
• Appetite Problems
• Reduced Concentration
• Feeling Overwhelmed

Postpartum Depression Signs and Symptoms

The symptoms of postpartum depression could be mistaken as baby blues at first, as the signs are quite similar to baby blues. The only difference is that the symptoms are much more intense, and could eventually affect your daily tasks as well as handling the baby.

The symptoms could develop a few weeks after birth, or as late as a year after giving birth. Here are the signs and symptom of postpartum depression:

• Excessive crying
• Eating more than usual or loss of appetite
• Has difficulty bonding with the baby
• Severe mood swings or depressed mood
• Hopelessness
• Withdrawing from friends and family
• Intense anger and irritability
• Sleeping too much or inability to sleep
• Restlessness
• Loss of energy or overwhelming fatigue
• Fear that you aren’t a good parent for your baby
• Recurrent thoughts of suicide or death
• Reduced pleasure and interest in activities that you usually enjoy
• Severe panic and anxiety attacks
• Feelings of guilt, worthlessness, inadequacy, or shame
• Thoughts of harming your baby or yourself
• Unable to think clearly, make decisions, or concentrate

Failure to treat this illness could last for months or year. In rare conditions, mothers might also experience postpartum psychosis, and this usually develops during the first week after delivery. The signs and symptoms are severe and may include:

• Paranoia
• Sleep disturbances
• Disorientation and confusion
• Delusions and hallucinations
• Attempts to harm the baby or self
• Obsessive thoughts about your child
• Excessive agitation and energy

This mental condition could to life-threatening behavior or thoughts, so it’s essential to seek immediate treatment.

How Does Essential Oils Work on Depression?

You might be wondering how essential oils could help with your postpartum depression, essential oils actually affect biological factors including stress levels, blood pressure, heart rate, immune function, and breathing.

Here’s how the oils work to help treat depression; the natural aromatic molecules in the essential oil can cross the brain or blood barrier, which causes a direct impact on certain areas of the brain that controls the feelings of stress, depression, and anxiety.

So biologically speaking, the information about the aroma of the essential oil will go to the area of the brain, known as the limbic system, which is an important section of the brain. The limbic system of the brain help controls emotions, such as pain, behavior, mood, and pleasure. As it controls these functions of the brain, it can affect your emotional responses and turns them into a form of attraction, fear, happiness, sadness, and more.

Therefore, this makes the essential oils very powerful as the scents can affect the limbic system, which plays an important role in fighting and curing postpartum depression.

10 Best Essential Oils to Help Cure and Treat Postpartum Depression

Treating postpartum depression or even regular depression can include psychotherapy, mental health counseling, and medications. But since not everyone has the time or money to attend these clinics and medications, most people look for natural remedies as an alternative treatment.

Most natural remedy treatments are effective in fighting depression, and one them is by using essential oils. The following below is one of the best essential oils for postpartum depression:

Lavender Therapeutic Essential Oil

Lavender is one of the most popular scents of essential oil as people can immediately recognize it. Lavender has been used way back in the ancient Romans for calming, according to some research in recent years has been proven to fight anxiety, depression, and insomnia. During a study in 2012, they have found that aromatherapy can significantly reduce postpartum depression on women without any side effects.

This lavender essential oil from Healing Solutions has the most amazing and unique lavender smell in the market, and if you are not satisfied with the product’s aroma, Healing Solutions can offer you a full refund with no questions asked. The great thing about this product is it’s very affordable, which makes it ideal for those who are on a budget.

Sun Organic Ylang-Ylang Essential Oil

Ylang-ylang essential oil may not sound as popular as lavender oil, but did you know that ylang-ylang extract is one of the main ingredients used in a famous perfume? It was used to make Chanel No. 5. The flowers of the ylang-ylang tree were extracted to be used in different products, including essential oils, as it has a sweet and floral aroma.

The bright flower of the ylang-ylang tree has great benefits on mental health, as it can help curb the negative thoughts that are associated with postpartum depression. In a 2006 study, they have concluded that using ylang-ylang essential oil for aromatherapy can bring relief to stress and depression. This product is perfectly safe for both mothers and babies.

Healing Solutions Grapefruit Essential Oil

When a grapefruit essential oil is used in aromatherapy, it can stimulate your senses and an excellent solution relives your mental fatigue and exhaustion. The intense citrus scent of the oil can help elevate your low moods and energize your mind and body. Like most citrus oils, grapefruit essential oil is proven to help improve your immune function and normalize your neuroendocrine hormone levels.

Some studies said that using citrus oils for aromatherapy treatment can be more effective than using anti-depressants. Therefore, if you to use an essential oil with a citrusy scent, consider getting this grapefruit essential oil from Healing Solutions. This manufacturer provides one of the best essential oils in the market.

Healing Solutions Bergamot Essential Oil

Here is yet another oil from Healing Solutions, but in another unique aroma. If you’re familiar with the taste of the earl grey tea, that was the citrus taste of a bergamot extract. Bergamot essential oil is very stimulating and contains alpha-pinene and limonene, which makes it ah effective hormone balancer and anti-depressant.

This can also help increase your energy flow, which enhances your energy levels and improves your blood circulation. Therefore, not is it great for depression, but it also has a good effect on your health.

Aviano Roman Chamomile Essential Oil

There is a reason chamomile has been widely used on candles, teas, aromatherapy products like essential oils. Roman chamomile oil is quite similar to German chamomile, it has an herbaceous, floral scent and it is well-known for its calming effects on the mind and body.

The Roman chamomile essential oil has been clinically proven as an anti-depressant, which is by helping relax the mind and body. It can also help alleviate anxiety and insomnia, which is often associated with depression and other low moods.

Wasserstein Sandalwood Therapeutic Essential Oil

If you are looking for a calm, woody aroma to use inside your household, you should consider using sandalwood as your essential oil. You’ll often find this extract in incense, which is perfect to use while meditating as it helps increase mental focus and clarity. But it is also proven to be effective in fighting off postpartum depression.

The reason why it has a good effect against depression is that it has a powerful therapeutic effect on the limbic system, which is found on the brain. The oil is also an excellent emotional balancer, which makes it a good choice for preventing postpartum depression. Wasserstein sandalwood essential oil is perfectly safe for babies and for anyone in the house.

Handcraft Blends Basil Essential Oils

Basil is naturally high in Vitamin C and antioxidants, so the basil essential oil can help alleviate stress and anxiety, reduce inflammation, and calm your nervous system. The oils can also stimulate your adrenal glands, which is especially helpful for alleviating chronic fatigue and revitalizing energy levels.

Fatigue is one of the major issues for those who are suffering from depression, same for mothers who have postpartum depression. But since basil essential oil can help reduce sluggishness, it can also help reduce the adverse symptoms of your postpartum depression.

Healing Solutions Sweet Orange Essential Oil

Using an orange essential oil is an effective anti-depressant for new mothers, it is also great in energizing and lifting up your low or foul mood. According to a study that has been conducted in a University in Japan, patients who have been exposed to the scent of orange essential oils has helped them reduce the number of anti-depressants they take. Orange oil can also help stabilize immunity and normalize their endocrine levels.

In another study, using orange oil for aromatherapy has also been found to lower one’s heart rate, and help decrease the cortisol levels that are associated with anxiety and stress.

NOW Clary Sage Essential Oil

If you’re looking for an essential oil that does more than being an anti-depressant, you should use a clary sage essential oil from NOW as it helps promote the feeling of hopefulness, increases your confidence, and naturally uplifting oil. The reason why clary sage oil is said to be effective as an anti-depressant is that it helps modifies the dopamine pathways in the brain.

Aside from the abovementioned, this oil can also help alleviate your feeling of anxiety and fear and promotes a feeling of relaxation and calmness. This can be a great option for new mothers who are suffering from postpartum depression.

Healing Solutions Turmeric Essential Oil

Turmeric essential oil is one of the best products that has been proven to help treat depression. In fact, according to some studies, the oil has been proven to be effective the same as the popular drug called “Prozac”, to alleviate the symptoms of depression.

Turmeric is from the family of ginger and it has an intense, yellow-colored root. The main constituent of the root called Curcumin can help boost the levels of BNDF in the brain that causes depression. Curcumin can stop and even reverse the effects of low-level BNDF.

Conclusion

Treating postpartum depression doesn’t have to be expensive or lose your quality time with your baby. You can conveniently treat and control it by using one of the best essential oils for postpartum depression. Not only are the oils effective, but they are also very affordable.

Since not all oils could be effective for everyone, it would be best for you to try and experiment with different scents and products. Therefore, we recommend all the listed products above which are all very effective in treating postpartum depression.