Post-Baby Clarity: Doctor Shares What It Is, Why It Happens

Getty Photo Illustration: Siobhan Gallagher Getty Photo Illustration: Siobhan Gallagher

There's a lot no one warns you about when it comes to having a baby, like pregnancy nose , carpal tunnel, and an agonizing sharp pain that randomly shoots through your vagina . But perhaps the most surprising part of pregnancy isn't physical at all: it's the clarity that comes immediately after giving birth.

Known as "post-baby clarity," this phenomenon is what happens when new parents experience an "aha" moment — an epiphany of sorts brought on by the physical act of birth, the emotional high of new parenthood, and the sudden responsibility of caring for another human.

"Parenthood acts as an emotional magnifying glass, bringing underlying issues to the surface with unprecedented intensi