# Day 265: A plan for your mood after

> Thirty-seven weeks and six days. Baby blues pass in days; depression lasts longer. Today you choose who checks on you at two weeks, and save the numbers.

- Series: Your ninth month of pregnancy, day by day (https://chorevia.com/learn/pregnancy-month-9), day 265 of 280, 37 weeks + 6 days
- Your baby this week: about the length of a leek; around 48.6 cm from head to heel
- Canonical URL: https://chorevia.com/learn/pregnancy-month-9/day-265
- Last reviewed: 2026-10-22
- Publisher: Chorevia (https://chorevia.com)
- Cite as: Chorevia. "Day 265: A plan for your mood after." Last reviewed October 22, 2026. https://chorevia.com/learn/pregnancy-month-9/day-265

This guide is general education that summarizes published research and guidance from groups like the American Academy of Pediatrics, the CDC, and the WHO. It isn’t medical advice, and every child develops on their own timeline. Your pediatrician knows your child; if something feels wrong, call them. In an emergency, call 911.

Thirty-seven weeks and six days. Most birth plans stop at the birth. Today's plan starts two weeks after it, with one question somebody will ask you and mean.

## Your baby

Around now your baby is around 48.6cm long from head to heel, about the length of a leek, and full term: probably big enough and mature enough to survive in the outside world ([NHS](https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/pregnancy/week-by-week-guide-to-pregnancy/3rd-trimester/week-37/)). Your baby will need a lot from you in the weeks after birth. Part of that is you being well.

## Your body

Your hormones are about to make a sharp turn. Estrogen and progesterone peak in pregnancy, then fall to pre-pregnancy levels within the first 24 hours after delivery, and researchers suspect that rapid shift plays a part in postpartum depression ([OWH](https://womenshealth.gov/mental-health/mental-health-conditions/postpartum-depression)).

About 1 in 8 new mothers report symptoms of postpartum depression in the year after childbirth ([OWH](https://womenshealth.gov/mental-health/mental-health-conditions/postpartum-depression)). The baby blues are different: they typically fade within a few days. Postpartum depression usually starts within the first month, and symptoms lasting beyond 2 weeks may be a sign of it ([OWH](https://womenshealth.gov/mental-health/mental-health-conditions/postpartum-depression)). It can also start any time in the first year ([OWH](https://womenshealth.gov/pregnancy/childbirth-and-beyond/recovering-birth)). And it isn't only depression: anxiety can come during pregnancy as well as after ([NICHD](https://www.nichd.nih.gov/health/topics/pregnancy/conditioninfo/postpartum)).

## Try today

### The postpartum-mood plan

- **Time:** 10 minutes

1. Choose one person, not your partner, who will ask you two weeks after the birth: "How are you, really?" Two weeks, because symptoms that last beyond 2 weeks may be postpartum depression ([OWH](https://womenshealth.gov/mental-health/mental-health-conditions/postpartum-depression)).
2. Ask them to set a reminder for two weeks after your due date, and to move it when the baby comes.
3. Save two numbers in both phones: call or text 988, and call or text the National Maternal Mental Health Hotline, 1-833-TLC-MAMA (1-833-852-6262) ([CDC](https://www.cdc.gov/reproductive-health/depression/index.html)). The hotline is free, confidential, and staffed around the clock, in English, Spanish, and more than 60 other languages ([NICHD](https://www.nichd.nih.gov/health/topics/pregnancy/conditioninfo/postpartum)).
4. Write who you'd call first. The OWH names a doctor, nurse, midwife, or your baby's pediatrician ([OWH](https://womenshealth.gov/mental-health/mental-health-conditions/postpartum-depression)).

**Make it work:** Pick the friend who will ask twice if you say "fine" the first time.

## Watch for

- **Normal:** the baby blues in the days after birth, which typically fade within a few days ([OWH](https://womenshealth.gov/mental-health/mental-health-conditions/postpartum-depression)). **Call your provider** if sadness lasts more than two weeks; don't wait for the postpartum visit ([OWH](https://womenshealth.gov/pregnancy/childbirth-and-beyond/recovering-birth)).
- **Normal:** feeling unsure you're doing it right. **Call your provider today** if you can't care for yourself or the baby ([OWH](https://womenshealth.gov/mental-health/mental-health-conditions/postpartum-depression)).
- **Normal:** a passing dark thought you can set down. **Call 911**, or call or text 988 or 1-833-TLC-MAMA, for thoughts about harming yourself or your baby ([CDC](https://www.cdc.gov/hearher/maternal-warning-signs/index.html)).

## For you

Any woman can become depressed during pregnancy or after having a baby, and it does not make her a bad mother ([OWH](https://womenshealth.gov/mental-health/mental-health-conditions/postpartum-depression)). Doctors are advised to ask about symptoms of depression during and after pregnancy, whatever your risk ([OWH](https://womenshealth.gov/mental-health/mental-health-conditions/postpartum-depression)). When they ask, answer honestly. It's a routine question, not a judgment.

If you're the partner: this plan covers you too. Emerging research suggests 1 in 10 new fathers may experience depression during or after pregnancy ([OWH](https://womenshealth.gov/pregnancy/childbirth-and-beyond/recovering-birth)). Pick your own two-week person.

## Sources

- NHS. "Week 37." Week-by-week guide to pregnancy, Best Start in Life. https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/pregnancy/week-by-week-guide-to-pregnancy/3rd-trimester/week-37/
- Office on Women's Health. "Postpartum depression." U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://womenshealth.gov/mental-health/mental-health-conditions/postpartum-depression
- Office on Women's Health. "Recovering from birth." U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://womenshealth.gov/pregnancy/childbirth-and-beyond/recovering-birth
- Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. "What should I know about postpartum depression?" National Institutes of Health. https://www.nichd.nih.gov/health/topics/pregnancy/conditioninfo/postpartum
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "Symptoms of Depression Among Women." Reproductive Health, 2024. https://www.cdc.gov/reproductive-health/depression/index.html
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "Urgent Maternal Warning Signs and Symptoms." HEAR HER campaign, 2024. https://www.cdc.gov/hearher/maternal-warning-signs/index.html