As part of our “You’re Not Sick—You’re UnderNourished” series, let’s talk about something most women aren’t warned about: what happens to your mind and mood after you give birth. You might expect some sleep deprivation and hormone shifts—but no one tells you how depleted you might feel. Suddenly you’re anxious, foggy, weepy for no reason, or just… not yourself.
What’s really going on? In many cases, your body is flat-out drained. Pregnancy, labor, and breastfeeding pull nutrients like B vitamins, magnesium, and essential fats straight from your reserves—and if those aren’t replenished, your nervous system and hormones can’t reset. I call it nutritional fallout, and it’s one of the most overlooked causes of postpartum mood disorders.
That’s why I recommend going back to the basics—targeted nutrients that rebuild your strength from the inside out.
#1 Dream Team Must-Have: The Cinderella Hormone
Progesterone is what I call “The Cinderella Hormone.” It quietly goes about doing so very much behind the scenes, yet rarely gets the credit it deserves. During pregnancy, your body is beautifully designed to pump out large amounts of progesterone—the very hormone that helps keep you calm, centered, and emotionally balanced. But the moment that baby arrives and the placenta is delivered, those levels take a nosedive. For many women, that sudden hormonal crash is more than just a shift—it’s a shock to the system. It’s no wonder so many new moms are hit with waves of anxiety, irritability, sleeplessness, or a sadness they just can’t explain. (PubMed)
But it’s not just new moms. I’ve worked with women of all ages who say they just don’t feel like themselves anymore. They’re tired, irritable, emotionally fragile—and they don’t know why. More often than not, low progesterone is part of the picture.
That’s exactly why I created ProgestaKey—a natural, bioidentical progesterone cream that helps bring this magical hormone back into balance. If your body is crying out for support, don’t ignore it. The right kind of progesterone can be a game-changer—for your mood, your sleep, and your sanity.
This all-natural cream is sourced from wild yam and each pump conveniently delivers the recommended dosage of 20 mg USP progesterone per pump. It also includes lavender essential oil for calming. You’ll find answers to many of your questions about this all-important product at this link.
#2 Dream-Team Must-Have: Vitamin B-Complex
During pregnancy, baby gets first dibs on just about everything—especially nutrients. And that means mama can end up running on empty. One of the most common deficiencies I see in new moms is in the B-vitamin family. These are your stress-handling, mood-balancing nutrients, and when your reserves get drained, it’s no surprise that symptoms like anxiety, depression, and even irrational fears can start creeping in. Your body just went through the ultimate marathon—and now it’s time to rebuild.
Some new mothers are prescribed expensive meds when a quality B complex supplement might have taken the cloud of postpartum away if maintained before, during, and after pregnancy.
One study found that women low in vitamin B12 were over four times more likely to struggle with postpartum depression than those with healthy levels. That’s a huge difference. And it’s not just B12—getting enough B6, B12, and folate during pregnancy can make a big impact on how you feel emotionally after baby arrives. These aren’t just “nice-to-haves”—they’re mood-protecting essentials your body is counting on. (BioMed Central).
B complex vitamins are a true “dream team” that work together to help combat depression, fatigue, free-floating anxiety, and confusion—and to defend the body against the ravages of stress. Foods rich in the complete vitamin B family include organ meats (liver, brains, heart, kidney—all of which we no longer ingest), oysters, cottage cheese, wheat germ (an allergic ingredient for the gluten-free) nutritional yeast (highly allergic to some), whole grains, soybeans (another allergen), peas, watercress, asparagus, whey, red clover, oatstraw, and parsley. It’s no wonder we’re B-deficient.
Reaching for this “forgotten vitamin” can alleviate a slew of symptoms—prescription drug-free.
UNI KEY’s Advanced Daily Multiple contains:
- Over 30 key upgraded and activated vitamins and minerals in highly absorbable forms
- Methylated B-12 and Folate for optimum absorption and those with MTHFR concerns
- Chromium for healthy blood sugar support
- Iodine for thyroid support
- Increased vitamin D for immunity, brain and bone health
- Upgraded and activated B vitamins that are commonly deficient
- Alpha lipoic acid for potent antioxidant support that crosses the blood/brain barrier
#3 Dream Team Must-Have: Magnesium
Magnesium is another must—because when your magnesium is low (and it usually is after pregnancy), everything feels more difficult. Your brain can’t relax, your muscles stay tight, and falling asleep becomes a nightly battle at a time when you desperately need your rest.
This isn’t just about stress—it’s about a mineral that helps regulate over 300 enzymatic processes in your body, including mood and sleep. The four highly absorbable forms in Mag-Key go right to work where you need them most—calming your nervous system, supporting steady energy, and helping your body exhale again. Many women tell me they feel the difference within days.
#4 Dream Team Must-Have: Ultra H-3 Plus
And let’s not forget Ultra H-3 Plus, my go-to brain and mood revitalizer. This isn’t your average supplement. It’s based on a powerful European formula designed to boost focus, lift mood, and support memory and clarity—without the jittery side effects. During postpartum recovery, when brain fog and emotional ups and downs are common, Ultra H-3 Plus feels like someone turned the lights back on. I call it a nervous system reset in a bottle—your mind, your mood, and your hormones will all breathe a sigh of relief.
Let’s Wrap It Up
New moms need more than rest—they need rebuilding. If you’re feeling off after baby, don’t brush it off. Your body is asking for support, not just sympathy. Nourish it, love it, and give it what it’s missing. You deserve to feel like yourself again. And your family will thank you, too!
P.S. The first signs of a vitamin B deficiency in children are mental and emotional instability. The B vitamin deficiency disease called beriberi (a deficit of thiamine or B1 — “the happy vitamin”) is widely considered to have disappeared from our modern lives, but I believe it still persists. An untreated B complex deficiency in a child can lead to life-threatening heart disease later in life with subclinical beriberi of the heart, which triggers paralysis of the heart muscle. So get thee some Vitamin B, especially if you are breast-feeding!
P.P.S. If you want a really great gift for a new mother, tuck these Dream Team Must-Haves into a pretty basket for her.
Related Articles:
What Do Your Skin, Sleep, and Sanity All Have in Common?
Resources:
Dube, Q., N. Lufesi, C. Banda, and J. M. Schaaf. “Postpartum Hormonal Changes and Maternal Mood: Insights from Progesterone and Estradiol Fluctuations.” Frontiers in Global Women’s Health 5 (2024): Article 1428494. https://doi.org/10.3389/fgwh.2024.1428494
Blunden CH, Inskip HM, Robinson SM, Cooper C, Godfrey KM, Kendrick TR. Postpartum depressive symptoms: the B-vitamin link. Ment Health Fam Med. 2012 Jan;9(1):5-13. PMID: 23277793; PMCID: PMC3487611.
Chaudhry, Misbah, Aasia Mumtaz, Arooj Jamil, and Hafiza Yasmin. “Association of Vitamin B12 Deficiency with Psychiatric Symptoms: A Cross-Sectional Study.” BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth 21 (2021): 672. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12884-021-03622-x.
