Pregnancy is one of the memorable moments to enjoy in the life of woman. It may bring many changes in your body further leading to stress. It is more important to mitigate the stress as it may impact the development of your baby in the womb.
You should double your responsibilities during the pregnancy because you need to take care of yourself and the baby. Knowing the signs of stress in advance can help you prevent them from affecting your baby. Know more about the types of stress during the pregnancy and the effective ways to curb them.
Stress During The Pregnancy And Its Causes:
Stress is an inevitable negative emotion that all the age groups might experience. Along with the beautiful kicking moments of your baby pregnancy can also offer the stress and the other negative emotions. High levels of stress may cause the severe health problems like high blood pressure and even the premature birth in some other cases.
Here are a few causes of stress that might occur during pregnancy:
1. Physical changes:
Many changes may occur during the pregnancy both internally and externally. You may put on some weight, breast become sagging. You may also experience other internal changes that may range from frequent urination, aches, pains to shortness of the breath and the congestion. Some women might experience the sensory changes including sighy, taste, and smell.
2. Hormonal changes:
Hormonal and psychological changes that come up in the way of pregnancy are unique. It is more common for the pregnant women to experience the sudden changes in the estrogen and progesterone. Amount and functioning of the other hormones might also get affected during the pregnancy. These changes might affect the mood.
3. Negative life events:
Negative life events are the most common things to induce stress. Divorce, serious illness, death in the family, losing a job or home are responsible for the stress during pregnancy.
4. Depression or anxiety:
Depression is a medical condition that causes the sadness and makes you to loss interests in the things that you do. Anxiety is the fear of the things. These negative conditions make it hard to take care of yourself and your baby.
5. Fear of pregnancy loss:
Being pregnant after miscarriage may lead a person to experience the wide range of uncontrollable emotions including anxiety, preoccupying thoughts, or even the post traumatic stress disorder or panic attacks.
6. Domestic abuse:
There are some women who may have to suffer domestic problems and other personal issues even during the pregnancy. These kinds of incidents may lead to the elevated levels of stress during the pregnancy. Such stress may cause the harmful consequences on the baby that last forever.
7. Juggling between home and career:
It is very hard to balance the home, work, and pregnancy at the same time. There may be certain situations that make you feel more comfortable and may shatter your confidence to the greater extent. Many women may run into the episodes of stress thinking that they are not doing well and it may put them in depression in worse conditions.
8. Loneliness:
Loneliness is one of the primary reasons for the stress in pregnancy. any unexpected changes may occur that may make the person to live alone. This could be the potential reason for the lack of confidence resulting in the stress.
How Can Stress Affect Your Pregnancy?
Stress is a common negative emotion that is accompanying women especially during the pregnancy. It is difficult to eliminate the emotional stress during the pregnancy. Most of the women try to enjoy the phase of pregnancy but those may have to face many discomforts and stress aggregated by the physical and personal problems.
1. Preeclampsia:
Preeclampsia is a condition where the pregnant women might experience the high blood pressure during the episodes of pregnancy. High blood pressure many sometimes damage the organ system including the liver and kidneys. Stress may make up the way to preeclampsia. If you already have the blood pressure there is a great risk of getting the preeclampsia during pregnancy. Stress may lead to the short term spikes in the blood pressure.
Furthermore you have to clear up the fear of getting the preeclampsia as it can not restrict the delivery of the baby.
2. Miscarriage:
Prenatal stress is associated with the miscarriage. Women who have the negative life events or major psychological stress are at the higher risk of miscarriage. Workplace stress is linked to the miscarriage in some way. You need to get adjusted to the work and the diet especially if you work in the night shift.
3. Premature birth and low birth rate:
Chronic health diseases like high blood pressure, heart diseases, and diabetes may result in the preterm delivery. Babies who are born before the term are likely to have the developmental delays and the learning disabilities. The main risk factor for the premature births is the stress.
4. ADHD:
Attention deficit hypersensitivity disorder that is something that the babies get in the long run after the delivery. Prenatal stress may have the long term effects on your baby. Children are at the risk of showing up the symptoms of ADHD even at the adolescent stages.
How To Get Rid Of Stress During Pregnancy?
Here are a few ways to alleviate the symptoms of the stress so that it will be beneficial for you and the growth and wellness of your baby:
1. Practice meditation:
Practice mindful meditation every morning that can help you to read yourself and reduce the stress. This works well for the stress relief during pregnancy. Talk to your doctor about the safe exercises that can be performed during the pregnancy. A mindful walk in the greenness of the nature might do wonders to your mood. Make sure to get hydrated even during the simple physical activity.
2. Seek the support from the partner:
Your partner may always be the best and the lifelong friend. Sit with your partner and talk to him the major concerns of your stress. He may give you emotional support. Spend plenty of quality time with your partner have the meals together, spend some time before sleep, and you can even ask him to call you in the morning when he finds the free time in the office.
Share and express your problems and concerns with the loved one. Don’t keep everything piled up as they increase the intensity of stress. Solutions alone can’t make you feel free talking can be a great thing that can help you to mitigate the stress.
3. Be mindful:
Always try to get into the mindful activities and love yourself and the upcoming baby. Don’t give the way for stress. Ignore the physical changes that may come in the way of your pregnancy. Enjoy the little things in your life with mindfulness. Take deep breaths that can let your mind to calm down with the each exhale.
Here are a few tips to be more mindful with your everyday activities:
• Make sure to focus on the things what you are really experiencing ranging from the sights, sounds to the other sensations around you.
• Try something new in your daily routine to make the things more interesting.
• Plan some time to notice your thoughts. It is not possible to have the positive thoughts all the time. Achieve balance over your thoughts and ensure that your negative thoughts should not impact your health and the behavior.
• When you notice your mind is wandering somewhere gently bring it back to the normal position.
4. Stay healthy:
Focus on the diet. Of course there are very limited number of restrictions during the pregnancy always get the diet plan from your doctor and stick to it. Symptoms of vomiting are common during pregnancy that may end up between 3 to 5 months. Don’t get stressed to eat something that you don’t like. Some of the women might experience the vomiting sensation when they inhale smell of certain foods. Stay away from those foods if you have this problem. Most of the times it is not going to prevail all the way during the pregnancy. It may disappear when you are at the 5th month.
Focus on the fruits, dry fruits, and juices. Take the medication on time. Always keep the medicines to take in your sight because, it is more common to forget and skip often.
5. Listen to music:
Music always can do the wonders. Listen to your favorite music when you feel like you are getting depressed. 30 minutes of music can decrease the levels of cortisol which is the main stress hormone of the body. Break the stress with some good music.
6. Make a delivery plan:
Take the birthing or the baby care classes that are available through your hospital. Tour the sections of your hospital to get to know the resources available. The only thing that you can do to avoid the stress is to make your mind full of the useful things giving no way for the depressed thoughts that may further lead to stress.
7. Pay attention to your stress levels:
If you are feeling the uncontrollable levels of stress tell your doctor who can help you to address the stress and anxiety and can help you with some therapy to mitigate stress.
8. Get plenty of sleep:
Follow the healthy sleep habits. Go to bed early than usual and get the plenty of sleep . avoid the screen time before bed and keep your bedroom away from the distractions. Make it a cozy and comforting environment.
9. Know about your baby:
Keep a track on your baby in the womb and get some baby care books. Read them to know the baby care tips. This is especially important if you are a new mom. As a further step get some story books for your baby as well that will be useful when they reach their toddlerhood.
10. Go for shopping!
Shopping can always keep your mind busy so there in no scope for the stress. Shop for yourself and get the maternity dresses. Get accessories for your baby if you find something new.
Get the groceries and fill up the pantry just one month before the pantry because, you may not find time to go out with your baby after the delivery.
11. Keep yourself more active:
Pregnancy is a time to explore the new things. You are not required to take rest all the time. You can do your daily chores if you don’t have any complications. It is quite fine to do the activities without lifting heavy weights. You can clean your home and laundry the clothes. Gardening and watering the plants are always grateful that can lift up your mood.
12. Take rest when you need:
It is quite common to often feel exhausted and uncomfortable sometimes during the pregnancy. So ensure to take the rest when you really need it. You might not stand or walk for the more time during the first three months of the pregnancy. This may give you the symptoms of nausea. Take rest immediately and may reach the ground soon. Never get into the activities that require more physical activity. Always choose the ones that are quite simple.
Pregnancy is not an illness and you do not need to housebound yourself. Maintain balance and take a little rest than usual. Avoid working over the stressful assignments.
13. Get yourself ready for the physical changes:
With the increasing bump you may encounter the some other changes like frequent urination. Be prepared to cope with the upcoming changes to your body both internally and externally. Never feel yourself frustrated for the increased bump and the sagging breasts. Keep your mind calm and pleasant all the time.
These days, physical changes are not an issue and there are many exercises, and great yoga postures to get back to your desired shape after the pregnancy.
14. Eat well:
This is the best natural stress relief in pregnancy. Eating well is good for your brain, baby, and body. Make sure to eat on regular basis to keep the sugar levels in control. A drop in the sugar levels can make you more irritable and tired. There is always a great association between your mood and eating. It is a tough task to take the healthy diet amidst the mood imbalance. So achieve the peace of mind and take the healthy diet. Adopt the mindful eating and keep all the gadgets while eating.
Dehydration may affect your mood and make you feel more irritable. Avoid the alcohol consumption that may affect the physical and mental health of your baby.
15. Go for the therapies:
Massage is the simple and the great way to de-stress yourself. Give yourself a foot massage. Swollen legs are common during the pregnancy and you can make use the coconut oil in your pantry. Massages soles of your feet with the warm coconut oil for the instant relief.
Look for the spas and the beauty salons that can offer you the best massage. Make sure that the therapist who works for you is well qualified to work with the pregnant women.
16. Take warm bath:
Warm bath is a great way to soothe the muscles. This can offer the relaxation to the tense muscles that is caused by the weight redistribution. Take a bath with oils that help to nurture the skin and the body. This will help you to relieve the cramps that are common during the pregnancy. This is the most simple and the inexpensive way to beat the stress.
Ensure that the water is not too hot. It should be warm and limit the bath time to not more than 10 minutes as it can raise the core body temperature to above 101 degree Fahrenheit. Prolonged bath in hot water may further make you to sweat more and turn the skin to red.
17. Analyze the content Before you watch the movies and TV series:
Look into the content to ensure that it is free from the violence and the aggressive acts. Avoid the movies under the categories of action and adventure that cause the stress and adversely impact the mental wealth.
Laughter is the best ever medicine. Watch the comedy shows and the comedy movies that make you feel lighter and happy.
18. Limit the Unsolicited advices and gossips:
The world around you always tries to be your pregnancy mentor. But you are likely to be fed up with the unscientific and gravely wrong things. The pregnancy is not going to be same experience for all the women. Some techniques may work well with some women and may not work well with the other. Stop listening to the horrific pregnancy and birth stories that may further intensify your fear. Just listen to your mind and comfort eat what you can.
19. Socialize:
Spend time with the people around you. Don’t just sit alone at the home. Loneliness can take you to the negative emotions. Join in a social group where you can interact and share your experiences.
In conclusion, discomfort and mood swings are like the seasons of the year which come and you. All you can do to cope well with them is to hold the confidence and faith in you. Healthy lifestyle and the diet can minimize the intensity of the uncomfortable episodes. Know everything about your expecting baby and some parenting tips before your hold newborn in your arms.
FAQ’s:
Can stress during pregnancy cause Autism?
We are aware of the fact that maternal stress is associated with the various unwelcomed effects in the baby. A 2016 study in the New England Journal of Medicine tells revealed that stress during pregnancy may result in the autism in the baby.
