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If you've welcomed your offspring into this world, you've likely heard of a non-stress test, which is done during the third trimester and monitors both fetal heart rates and their reaction to movement to make sure your babies are getting enough oxygen.
The non-stress test is a very important, non-invasive screening done for high-risk pregnancies.
After your babies are born, the other stress test comes for parents, as they navigate the unique challenges and, shall we say, intricacies that come with raising two (or more) babies simultaneously.
If you've had children yourself, it's safe to say you understand that raising children can be stressful. It's also wonderful, and incredible, and awe-inspiring, and many parents wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.
But, when you're juggling multiple schedules, never-ending chores, and all the things that come with helping your kids learn the ways of the world, there are certainly times when stress comes into play.
When stress doubles
Parents of twins and higher-order multiples are faced with more frequent demands from their babies. The constant needs can cause parents to feel tied-down and exhausted from the continous cycles, and, even worse, constantly guilty for helping one baby first—at the expense of their other baby, who also needs them.
In addition, being constantly "on duty" can cause parents to feel as though they have no down-time, bringing on feelings of fatigue from the day-to-day routine.
Add to that the higher financial strain that comes with providing for two babies simultaneously, and the several sources of pressure parents deal with on a daily basis are incredibly intensified.
Studies show that mothers of twins experience higher postpartum and early parenthood anxiety, that mothers of twins have more symptoms of anxiety than mothers of singletons in the early postpartum period (0 to 12 weeks), and that mothers of twins experience high levels of anxiety at three times the rate of mothers of singletons.
These studies also discovered that:
- Mothers of twins experience higher psychiatric distress;
- Mothers of twins experience higher parenting stress;
- Mothers of multiples are more likely to report severe parenting stress than mothers of singletons; and
- First-time mothers who gave birth to twins (who went from zero children to two babies at once) may experience more postpartum parenting stress than mothers of twins who already had an older child or children.
When it comes to fathers, the same study shows similar patterns in mental health outcomes. Specifically, the data indicates that fathers of multiples experience similarly elevated levels of postpartum parenting stress, postpartum depression, and early parenthood general psychiatric distress as mothers of multiples.
By two months postpartum, fathers of twins reported more symptoms of depression than fathers of singletons. Differences persisted to 24 months postpartum, and from that point, fathers of twins reported more symptoms of depression and more symptoms of anxiety than fathers of singletons.
As one might suspect, the data from this study reflects worse outcomes in the case of higher-order multiples (welcoming three or more babies simultaneously) in comparison to twin births.
Why is stress higher with multiples?
There are a handful of areas where stress creeps in and compounds when you have young children.
When you have multiples, you lose a lot more sleep overnight than if you had just one baby—and the sleep you DO manage to get is much more broken, which means it's not as restorative.
There's also really not any downtime because the parenting duties are doubled. When you have one baby, one person can feed them while the other makes dinner or showers. When you have two babies, if you're both doing a bottle feed, suddenly nobody is making dinner and nobody is getting a much-needed shower.
Research shows that when you have twins:
- Marital stress and divorce rates are higher;
- The financial strain is higher—in part because you have to pay for twice the child expenses all at once, and in part because the rate at which mothers return to work is slower after having multiples than it is after having a single baby.
- Having two or more babies the exact same age presents unique challenges that just aren't there when you look at two single children who are born close together. For example, a nine- or 10-month-old sibling of a newborn can play on their own and entertain themself (while still being supervised, of course) for a little bit, and they've likely already been sleep-trained so will probably sleep through the night for the most part. But when you have two babies who can't hold their heads up and need to both be tended to at the exact same time, or who both suddenly start spitting up simultaneously, it's much more difficult and stressful to make sure everyone has everything they need exactly when they need it.
There are a few other things to consider when it comes to stress levels in parents of multiples, like when things will get easier, or how your twins will interact and treat each other. The interesting things about having twins is that it never really gets easier; it just becomes a different type of difficult.
It's easier in terms of the fact that they can eventually hold their heads up and feed themselves...but it's more difficult because they reach a point where they can run, at full-speed, in opposite directions of each other, usually toward traffic or something else life-threatening. How do you pick which one to run after? You can't pick, you have to always be within arm's reach so that if they do decide to suddenly bolt, you can grab one like a football and run to the other before anything happens.
Looking at how they interact and treat each other, sometimes, your twins will get along swimmingly and take such good care of each other, especially if one of them gets hurt.
It will make your heart melt and you'll recount how lucky you are to be a parent of twins because they've got a built-in best friend who's always looking out for them.
Other times, that built-in best friend can become a temporary built-in frenemy, with one egging the other on while they're trying to relax, stealing the "best part" of the icing from their sibling's cupcake, or singing songs at the top of their lungs while their twin is trying to fall asleep three feet away from them. When you have just one kid, you don't run into these sorts of scenarios.
Cortisol levels in parents of multiples
Cortisol, which you might know as "the stress hormone," is produced by the adrenal glands. It's called the stress hormone because it manages how your body responds to stress. It's responsible for regulating your metabolism, your blood pressure, your immune function, and your sleep-wake cycle.
When we talk about stress and how it can impact somebody, it's important to look at the difference between chronic stress and acute stress.
Acute stress passes quickly; it's short-term and triggers temporary fight-or-flight responses. On the flip side, chronic stress is long-term; it's persistent and harmful, stemming from ongoing issues, like recurring sleep deprivation, unhappy relationships, or financial strain.
Over time, the continuous stress from these sorts of long-term challenges can cause severe physical and mental health issues.
The stress of raising multiples is chronic, and the always-looming financial pressure and the long-lasting sleep deprivation that comes with multiple night-time wake-ups for many months (or even years) in a row can lead to chronically high levels of cortisol.
The stress of raising multiples is chronic, and the always-looming financial pressure and the long-lasting sleep deprivation that comes with multiple night-time wake-ups for many months (or even years) in a row can lead to chronically high levels of cortisol.
Support from friends and family is crucial during the early years of parenthood (we've all heard, "It takes a village..."), but when you have multiples, it's infinitely harder to get out of the house in search of social support. I know, for myself with our twins, even the idea of getting everybody ready and outside to go for a stroll around the block felt like a Herculean feat, and I'd often not want to even attempt it, but in the end, I was always glad we'd made the effort and done it.
Not being able to get out for fresh air or time with friends (even if it's to meet a fellow parent with their own kiddos for a stroll or playtime at the park) can further impact a parent's psychological well-being, so it's important, as hard as it might feel, to make the effort to get together with friends or family to make sure you're getting that social support.
When cortisol is out-of-whack
Healthy cortisol levels should follow a diurnal curve. This means it shouldn't sit at the same level all day long. It should be high in the morning (this is what helps you wake up) and lower in the evening (this is what helps you fall asleep).
It's this ebb and flow that gives you energy and helps you focus during the day and sets the beat for your rhythm of rest during the evening and overnight. After you fall asleep, cortisol levels are supposed to naturally rise again overnight gradually, helping you to wake up again the following morning.
But chronic stress that doesn't let up throughout the day (like, the kind of persistent and nagging stress you face when you're raising multiples or young children with special needs who require extra care) can lead to dysregulated, flat cortisol levels that remain high in the evening.
When you skip that morning peak and your cortisol levels don't fall throughout the day, and then they rise again too quickly overnight, your body puts itself in a constant state of Fight or Flight. This happens as a result of your hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, which manages stress, being activated all of the time.
This can disrupt your sleep and affect your energy levels.
If it's become your "new normal" to wake up between 2:00 a.m. and 4:00 a.m. every night and you have trouble getting back to sleep, your cortisol curve could be off—that's what pulls you awake too soon.
Symptoms of dealing with too much stress
There are a variety of symptoms you might notice if you've been dealing with too much stress for too long.
Symptoms can include the following:
- You probably feel tired, yet unable to recharge. When you finally do get a break, you're unable to relax and get proper rest because your brain doesn't know how to shut off; it's stuck in Fight or Flight mode as a result of elevated cortisol levels.
- You're exhausted at nighttime, but you can't sleep. Despite the fact that you're tired, your brain's in high-alert mode, which makes it harder to fall asleep—and, more importantly, to stay asleep.
- Instead of waking up calm and refreshed, you wake up on edge and ready to face an onslaught of threats. Chronic stress puts your brain's fear center—and your whole body—into overdrive.
- You're experiencing memory loss, have trouble focusing, or get persistent brain fog, which makes completing simple tasks difficult. This is because continual stress messes with the part of your brain that's in charge of focus and decision-making.
- You get headaches or migraines more often than you used to. This can be triggered by stress, which tightens muscles and also increases sensitivity in your nervous system.
- You've put on weight around your abdomen, face, or chest. This can be caused by high cortisol levels increasing your appetite.
- You've noticed a new weakness in your arms and / or your legs. This can happen when chronically high levels of cortisol cause muscle protein breakdown.
- You've noticed you bruise more easily, that cuts heal more slowly than they used to, or that you're fighting off infections more than normal.
- You've found some grey hair and noticed they're going grey from the tip to the root. While going grey is a natural part of ageing, chronic levels of cortisol can speed up the depletion of pigment-producing stem cells, which leads to premature greying.
Left untreated, chronically high levels of cortisol can lead to serious, long-term conditions, including depression, osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease (hypertension), Type 2 diabetes, reproductive issues (e.g., irregular periods, lower libido, or erectile dysfunction), and Cushing's Syndrome.
Chronic stress affects your mood, but it also affects your brain, your body, and your long-term health.
If you've been experiencing the symptoms described above, know you're not alone.
The good news is, there are ways you can reset your system.
The good news is, there are ways you can reset your system.
You can try a variety of things, like:
- Increasing your intake of magnesium-rich foods, like leafy greens, nuts, and whole grains.
- Incorporating relaxing activities, like a moment of meditation after the bedtime routine and everybody's out for the night, to help counter the physiological effects of stress.
- Making an effort to connect with other parents of multiples who understand the emotional burden that comes with having twins or higher-order multiples and who get what you're going through.
- Monitoring your cortisol levels to see which how your stress levels fluctuate throughout the day.
Monitoring your stress levels
If you think you've got chronically high cortisol, you should talk to your healthcare provider to discuss your symptoms and ask for a blood, urine, or saliva test to rule out other conditions.
Going back to the list of symptoms of having long-term high cortisol, greying hair was one of the signs.
Researchers and specialists can use hair samples to measure chronic, long-term cortisol accumulation (because it provides a better measure of chronic stress over time than an acute salia sample does).
But, let's be real. How many of us are going to be submitting hair samples to a private lab for analysis?
The more feasible method for tracking your cortisol levels is to monitor them with a saliva sample—and, no, you don't have to ship the sample anywhere.
Once you've talked to your doctor to rule out any serious diagnoses, you can monitor your cortisol levels at home over time to get a better picture of how mental, physical, lifestyle, and environmental stress impact your body.
Developed with endocrinologists to help everyday users understand their cortisol patterns over time, this instant cortisol test by biotechnology company Eli Health gives users lab-grade insights into hormone fluctuations using a smartphone app.
Founded, designed, and manufactured in Montreal, Eli's Hormometer is a saliva-based hormone monitoring system that measures the user's cortisol levels and gives results in real-time; it sends the data directly to your phone in just 20 minutes. Right now, the Eli App is available on iPhone (iOS 15+), but an Android version will be coming soon.
When you track your step count, your heart rate, or your sleep score, your smartwatch or other wearable can see your output and track the symptoms.
But what's actually driving your output (your cortisol) is something you might not be watching or tracking regularly. Cortisol is something your watch or ring can't measure. But your saliva can.
This instant test turns the stress you experience on a daily basis into cortisol patterns you can see, track, and change. This means you can track and understand the impact of mental, physical, lifestyle, and environmental stress on your body.
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Instant Cortisol Test by Eli Health
Results in 20 Minutes
This is an award-winning instant cortisol test by Eli Health. It's a saliva-based test that you can take anywhere, anytime, to measure free cortisol to reveal the impact of mental, physical, lifestyle, and environmental stress on your body. You can use these tests on an ongoing basis to track your cortisol levels and get a better picture of the impacts stress can have on your body.
If you test your levels in the morning and at night, you can map your cortisol curve and see if it's regulated (if it peaks in the morning and falls throughout the day, like it should) or if it's flat and remains at the same level all day long.
Once you've mapped your cortisol pattern and have an idea of where your baseline is at, ongoing testing allows you to see if your levels are consistent over time or if they shift with lifestyle factors. It also gives you real-time feedback on how adjusting your sleep, exercise, or stress management techniques impacts the way your body handles stress.
Eli Health also has tests that can monitor a user's testosterone and progesterone levels.
Taking care of your kids means also taking care of yourself
When you become a parent, things shift, and your kids come first, as they should, because you brought them into this wold and they need their parents to take care of them.
But, in order to make sure you can take care of your kids, you also need to make sure you're taking care of yourself.
When you're constantly on baby duty, perpetually worried about making sure all the (double) bills are paid, and running on the fumes of what little sleep you're getting during those first few years with your twins, ongoing stress can wreak havoc on your body and on your mind.
Left untreated, chronic stress can contribute to serious health issues that can't be ignored.
Left untreated, chronic stress can contribute to serious health issues that can't be ignored.
Taking the time to monitor and manage your cortisol levels can give you an idea of whether your cortisol follows a curve throughout the day, as it should, or whether it's flat and requires a sit-down with your doctor to discuss matters before they get out-of-hand.
Do you deal with high stress on a daily basis? Do you monitor your cortisol levels? Let us know in the Comments section below or connect with us on Instagram to share your thoughts!
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