Crying at Diaper Commercials? Postpartum Hormones Explained

Your brain isn't broken. It's been fundamentally rewired for your baby's survival. During pregnancy and postpartum, significant hormonal and neurological changes occur in regions of the brain responsible for emotional processing, threat detection, and empathy. These changes make you very attuned to emotional cues, which unfortunately includes fictional families on tv.

Estrogen and progesterone have been regulating your serotonin and dopamine systems for nine months. Postpartum hormonal changes represent the most dramatic hormonal drops the human body experiences. Your brain is essentially relearning how to regulate emotions without the hormonal foundation it relied on during pregnancy.

In the fourth trimester, your brain's amygdala (the alarm system) becomes hyperactive while the prefrontal cortex (the rational control center) becomes less efficient. This means emotional responses happen faster and stronger before your logical brain can step in to say, "It's just an ad for laundry detergent."

Meanwhile, oxytocin (the bonding hormone) floods your system, making you more emotionally open and responsive to anything involving connection, babies, or family themes, which is why a commercial showing a dad teaching his daughter to ride a bike can leave you in emotional ruins.

Moments of postpartum emotional intensity

Lauren had to leave the room during a dog food ad. "It was about a dog who was loyal to his family, and I started thinking about unconditional love, and then about whether I was showing my baby enough love, and suddenly I was full-on crying about dog food. My partner was so confused."

Martina sobbed when her partner made her toast without being asked. "It wasn't about the toast. It was about being cared for when I felt like my entire job was caring for someone else. But try explaining that while crying over carbs."

You might notice:

• Feeling overwhelmed by others' emotions, like crying when you see someone else cry on TV

• Getting teary when your partner is sweet to you, even in small ways

• Having stronger reactions to conflict or tension that you'd normally handle easily

• Being more affected by news stories, especially anything involving parents and children

The specific triggers make no logical sense, and that's exactly what makes this experience so disorienting. Your brain is processing massive changes, and sometimes it just needs to cry. The commercial or toast or whatever is just the convenient excuse.

6 tips on navigating postpartum hormones

1. Feel without judgment.

Instead of fighting the tears, let them come. Crying is your body's way of processing intense emotions and releasing stress hormones. There's nothing wrong with being moved by stories about family love; it shows your caring heart is working exactly as designed.

This sounds simple but it's actually hard. When you start crying at something random, your instinct might be to mentally scold yourself. Instead, try: "My brain is processing a lot right now and needs to cry. That's okay." You don't have to understand why the commercial about paper towels made you sob; you just need to let it happen.

2. Be prepared.

• Keep tissues everywhere: car, diaper bag, every room of the house.

• Download a feelings playlist for different moods (sometimes you need to lean into the sadness with Adele, sometimes you need Britney Spears to pull you out).

• Save funny videos on your phone for when you need an emotional reset.

• Have a list of friends who understand postpartum emotions and won't judge your 2 p.m. crying call about a particularly moving dog food commercial.

3. Limit triggers.

If you have an important day ahead, it's okay to avoid tear-jerker content beforehand. Skip certain social media feeds that you know will make you emotional. Fast-forward through commercials if you're watching TV. Protect your emotional bandwidth when you need to.

But don't feel like you need to constantly shield yourself. The absurdity of your triggers might actually become funny eventually. Crying because a grocery store commercial showed a mom buying chicken? Future you will laugh about this. Current you might cry harder because you're crying about chicken. Both responses are valid.

4. Talk it out with a loved one.

Understanding that your brain is in a heightened emotional state, where everything feels more intense than usual, is a great place to start. When you're feeling all the feels, try leaning on your support network.

Give them tips on how to best support you: "When I'm emotional, saying 'This seems really hard for you' helps more than 'It's just a commercial.'" Most people want to help but don't know how to respond to seemingly disproportionate emotional reactions.

5. Name it to tame it.

When emotions feel overwhelming, labeling them helps your rational brain engage and can reduce intensity. Say out loud: "I'm feeling really emotional right now because my hormones are adjusting and I'm sleep-deprived. This feeling will pass."

This isn't about dismissing your emotions but actually creating space between the feeling and your response to it. You can acknowledge that yes, you're crying at a coffee commercial, and also recognize that this heightened response is temporary.

6. Pay attention to what moves you.

Crying more at stories about support? You might need more connection in your life. Getting teary at themes of independence? You might be processing a postpartum identity shift. Your emotional sensitivity can provide information about your unmet needs.

This doesn't mean you need to psychoanalyze every tear, but if you notice consistent themes in what triggers you, it might point toward something you need to address.

The unexpected benefits of emotional sensitivity

While crying at toilet paper ads feels ridiculous, this emotional openness serves important purposes. Heightened emotional sensitivity helps you attune to your baby's subtle cues and needs.

This sensitivity can deepen your relationships as you become more empathetic and emotionally available. Many parents report feeling more connected to art, music, nature, and human experiences during this time. One mother described it as "like someone turned up the brightness on life... Everything was more vivid, sometimes overwhelmingly so, but also more beautiful."

When sensitivity crosses into concerning territory

While heightened emotions are normal, certain patterns warrant professional attention. Seek help if you're unable to function due to emotional overwhelm, experiencing persistent sadness or anxiety beyond emotional sensitivity, having intrusive thoughts about harm, or feeling disconnected from your baby.

Normal postpartum sensitivity involves intense but varied emotions that don't significantly impair functioning. Postpartum mood disorders involve persistent negative emotions that interfere with daily life and bonding.

Ina realized she needed help when she noticed: "I wasn't just crying at commercials. I was crying all day, feeling hopeless, and couldn't find joy even in my baby's smiles. That's when I knew this was more than normal postpartum emotions."

While heightened emotions are normal initially, certain patterns require professional attention. Postpartum depression and anxiety affect up to 20% of new parents and are highly treatable. Getting help ensures you can be the parent you want to be.

Postpartum emotional sensitivity vs. postpartum depression

• Emotional sensitivity feels intense but has moments of relief. You cry at commercials but also laugh at silly things. You feel overwhelmed sometimes but can still experience joy.

• Postpartum depression feels heavy and persistent. It interferes with daily functioning for more than two weeks and doesn't lift even during good moments. You might feel numb instead of sensitive, or constantly sad rather than emotionally reactive.

Seek help if you experience crying that feels constant and uncontrollable beyond the first two weeks, feeling numb or disconnected from emotions entirely, daily functioning becoming difficult, thoughts of harming yourself or your baby, or emotional intensity that increases rather than gradually improves.

Your emotional thermostat will reset

Your ability to emotionally regulate will return, though you might find yourself slightly more sentimental about parent-child themes than you were before having kids. That's normal too.

Whether you're crying at commercials about coffee bringing families together or getting teary because your baby smiled at you, your emotions are completely valid. You're not "too sensitive." You're a person whose body and mind are adjusting to one of life's biggest changes: becoming a parent. Your heightened emotional state is evidence of the incredible rewiring your brain has undergone to help you care for your baby.

This emotional intensity won't last forever, but while you're in it, be gentle with yourself. Let the tears come when they need to. Find humor in crying at ridiculous things. And remember that your tender heart is serving an important purpose, even when it feels like too much.

In the meantime, keep tissues handy, warn your partner about particularly dangerous commercial time slots, and know that somewhere, another parent is also crying at an ad about car tires. You're not alone in this beautiful, ridiculous, emotionally supersaturated experience.