The day it’s confirmed that you are going to be a parent is one of the greatest days of your life. But this is where the journey truly begins. There’s going to be a lot of worries. And while it’s normal to feel stressed about the changes in your body and in your life, if you are constantly stressed, this can have a negative impact on you, the baby, and the pregnancy in general. It is so important to reduce stress during pregnancy, but how can you do this?
9 Months of Calm: Reducing Your Pregnancy Stress
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Arm Yourself With the Knowledge
As humans, we feel so stressed about something because it’s stepping into the unknown. In order to make sure that you are prepared, it’s time to start reading up on pregnancy but also actively answer those questions that you don’t know the answer to. This pregnancy preparation checklist can get you started on what to expect during each trimester and what will happen with every month up until the baby’s birth. It’s such a simple thing but if we feel powerless then we have to learn more about it. This will help to demystify the entire thing, and we can start to feel more relaxed because we will know what happens next.
Get Enough Rest
It is so important to listen to your body. If you feel tired, have a nap, take a break, and go to bed early. This is the worst time for you to say to yourself that you need to power through. Trusting your instincts is going to be something that you will come back to during your pregnancy, but also during your child’s life, and now is the perfect chance to listen to those instincts. How do you feel? If you are tired, take a rest. And while it is easier said than done when you are uncomfortable, you need to find the best ways to have as restful a sleep as possible. Learning to sleep better is a skill that will help you in so many areas of your life, especially when the baby is up half the night and you need to go to sleep at the drop of a hat!
Focusing on the Baby
We have to remember that if we are relaxed it’s going to make for a better pregnancy in the long run. You should never feel guilty about having time to yourself. Ultimately, it’s good for you and it’s good for the child. Taking those moments whenever you get a chance to focus on the bump is a great way for you to learn how to be at one with the child, but also, after 23, weeks the baby can hear your voice and this is the perfect way to start bonding with the child and to help make you feel better about the pregnancy in general. Starting to focus on the baby at this point is what can create an indestructible bond, and you will soon see things when the baby is born that you can trace right back to these key moments. For example, if you watch certain TV shows with a specific theme tune, you may find that the baby will actually stop and pay attention when this TV theme is playing!
Preparing Yourself for the Birth
Going back to the idea that the unknown can cause a lot of stress, if you start to learn about what happens during labor by going to antenatal classes and actively looking at your options, you will feel more confident as you go through pregnancy. The midwife will explain to you what happens and can help you to write a birth plan with all of your preferences. But you have to remember that you will have to keep a flexible outlook. If you have a very specific plan, something might happen to knock this off course which could stress you out when it is time for the baby to be born. This is where something like hypnobirthing can come in handy. It’s a very useful practice for expecting mothers to learn the calmness and techniques associated with reducing anxiety. It’s so easy to feel anxious because there are so many clinical processes with giving birth these days. But we have to remember that as mothers, we evolved to give birth. This goes back to trusting your instincts and intuition.
Talk if You Don’t Feel Good
This is the worst possible time to feel that you have to bottle up emotions. Your hormones are in flux and you may have worries about the baby’s well-being or have personal problems in your life. You should never feel afraid to admit how you are feeling. By being honest, you get the support that you need. And whether you need to speak to your midwife or your partner, you should never suffer in silence. Even if you feel silly about saying something to the midwife, you have to remember that they’ve seen all of this before! And when you are talking to your partner, you may realize that they have their own concerns as well. It is so important to communicate if you don’t feel right.
Eat Right and Exercise Lightly
One of the keys to feeling calm is about putting the right foods into your body and exercising. Exercising could lift your spirits as it releases endorphins. And eating well makes sure that you are providing the best foundation for your baby’s health. And it all goes back to the simple things like drinking enough water and eating regular meals to keep your blood sugar up. Your body is a temple at this point, and if you are worried that you aren’t doing enough for your baby eating right and doing light exercise is the perfect place to begin.
Pregnancy stress is something that, in many ways, we cannot escape from because there are so many concerns during those 9 months. But if you follow these approaches, it can give you a thorough foundation in preparing for one of the greatest days of your life.