Can breastfeeding help me with the baby blues?

Yes: It helps with bonding which will certainly make you happier. On the other hand, if you are in distress when you handle a baby, the baby will pick up on that and become unhappy, too, which will make your own distress worse. People with baby blues definitely need a lot of help and support, always from family members, and often from professionals.

Yes: Some studies have shown that nursing can lessen the impact of the baby blues (post-partum depression). Nursing a baby effectively can often reassure a mother that she has the skills to take care of the infant. More than 10% of mothers experience some post-partum sadness; mother's are counseled to look for professional help if it is interfering with their ability to care for their infant.

Baby blues: Bonding with your baby helps ease the tension and relieve the blues.

Maybe yes & maybe no: That may depend in part on how well the breast feeding experience goes. If the baby latches & suckles well - this can be a very positive way to bond & to ^ a mother's sense that things are going well. But, all too often, breast feeding doesn't go as smoothly as planned. A tense mother's breast milk may not let down. Believe it not - there are some babies that don't suckle well. >>.

ACT NOW: See a psychiatrist to help you out with this. A depressed mother usually has trouble being comfortable with a baby. A baby picks this up and it actually changes things about the course of development. Get some help with it.

Not a simple answer: If you are simply experiencing the baby blues, which is a low and emotionally fragile/sensitive mood, this should subside over the next couple weeks. But if you are clinically depressed, anxious and/or sleep deprived and breast feeding is further sleep-depriving you, it is important to talk with a reproductive psychiatrist who can help you weigh the risks vs benefits of breastfeeding.