How To Deal With Stress While Pregnant

How To Treat Stress When Naturally Doesnt Work

If you have followed the above steps and you still feel constantly anxious, you may need to talk to your health care provider about possibly starting anxiolytics. There are a number ofThere are a number of medications that are safe to take while you are pregnant. Stress is common during pregnancy, and there is nothing wrong with seeking treatment, in whatever way works best for you.

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What Causes Stress During Pregnancy

The causes of stress are different for every woman, but here are some common causes during pregnancy:

• You may be dealing with the discomforts of pregnancy, like morning sickness, constipation, being tired or having a backache.
• Your hormones are changing, which can cause your mood to change. Mood swings can make it harder to handle stress.
• You may be worried about what to expect during labor and birth or how to take care of your baby.If you work, you may have to manage job tasks and prepare your team for when you take maternity leave.
• You may worry about how you eat, drink and feel and how these things affect your baby.

Check In On Yourself Every Day

If depression or anxiety is affecting you, remember that you are not alone and that we are here for you. If you are feeling hopeless or helpless, talk to your obstetrician or consider getting help by a mental health professional.

In addition, times of crisis can worsen abusive relationships, and pregnancy can also increase the risk of abuse. If you need help, contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline online or by calling 800.799.SAFE , or consider telling your obstetrician.

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Can Stress During Pregnancy Hurt My Baby

Regular, everyday stress during pregnancy, such as stressing to make a work deadline or finish the babys nursery, wont hurt your baby.

But extreme , chronic and long-term stress can, in some cases, increase the risk of:

• Miscarriage
• Developmental delays in the baby

Babies born too soon or too small can face more complications than full-term, normal-weight newborns.

The Pain Of Stress During Pregnancy

Stress during pregnancy is unavoidable, but there are ways to manage it. Knowing some ways to manage your stress during pregnancy can be helpful.

With so many hormonal changes occurring within your body during pregnancy, many upheavals follow these changes. Such problems include the stress that comes along with pregnancy especially those hormones that can cause anxiety and nervousness. No wonder many expectant mothers often feel a bit under the weather.

Pregnancy is a terrific time, but it is not something to be taken lightly. Knowing that stress during pregnancy is part of the package, but not something to be concerned about, there are some simple ways to help you manage it so that you can give yourself the support needed to care for your newborn and the new baby arrives.

Some women experience stress symptoms straight through their pregnancy. Other women will experience it only when they go into labour. Whatever your symptoms or their frequency and severity, knowing how to handle them can help you sleep better and enjoy your experience of being pregnant.

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Set Limits While Working From Home

If you are working from home, set physical and mental limits to avoid continuous work stress. All of us need to unplug and have “home” time, even when we’ve been home all day.

Have a designated work area and set time limits so you don’t find yourself still at “work” at 9 p.m. And don’t check emails after your work day has ended.

Ask Friends And Family For Help

Pregnancy is a time when you should not be facing all the stress alone. Pregnancy is not the time for you to be too proud to ask for help or to accept the help offered to you. Stress is a sign that you are in a situation that is stretching your capacities too thin.

The people closest to you, your partner, family or close friends can take the weight off your shoulders at least for a while. Reaching out for help also means admitting you are not entirely in control and this is one of the concessions from which you can only benefit. Even when your partner cant complete chores perfectly, dont nag and waste the chance to take some time for yourself. Your social network, friends, family, and neighbors can be of very practical help as well.

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How To Deal With Stress And Depression During Pregnancy

Pregnant women are more prone to depression during pregnancy. 1 in 10 pregnant women experience this. There are many physical, mental and harmonal changes happening during pregnancy,and an additional burdon of depression is obviously very taxing on overall health.

How to treat depression during pregnancy How to lower your risk of prenatal depression. If you’re at all feeling depressed during pregnancy, talk with your physicianand ask for a When left untreated, stress and depression during pregnancy can impact both your and your baby’s health.

Women are even more susceptible to depression during pregnancy. Learn more about risk factors, causes and symptoms, plus how to seek treatment. Surging hormones coupled with stress, anxiety and societal pressure to feel a certain way can do a number on any woman’s emotional state while.

Depression during pregnancy, or antepartum depression, is a mood disorder just like clinical depression. Mood disorders are biological illnesses that involve During pregnancy, hormone changes can affect the chemicals in your brain, which are directly related to depression and anxiety.

Stress and depression can attack anyone and anytime indiscriminately. Pregnant women who are usually loaded with happiness look forward to the birth of their babies can also be attacked by stress and depression. The danger of ignoring stress and depression during pregnancy.

yoga poses to help you deal with depression.

How To Treat Stress Naturally During Pregnancy

• Discover your triggers Is there anything specific that makes you anxious? Pay attention to what is happening when you feel most stressed out.
• Get Some Rest Exhaustion or irregular sleeping habits can lead to increased negative emotions, including stress. Be sure that you are allowing yourself plenty of sleep.
• Eat healthily A well-balanced diet can help reduce stress, as well as keeping you and your baby healthy.
• Exercise Thirty minutes of mild to moderate exercise several days a week is enormously beneficial. It can also help lower cortisol levels, which is the hormone that causes anxiety.
• Meditation Meditating can help clear your mind and lower your stress levels.
• Therapy If your stress levels become unbearable, you may want to seek a therapist, to discuss possible underlying issues beneath your anxiety, as well as healthy ways to cope with your feelings.

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Stretch To Feel Better Fast

The hormones that are released when you get stressed can cause your muscles to tense up and tighten. Stretching is a great way to counteract this tightness and relieve stress during pregnancy.If you feel yourself getting anxious or nervous, take a few minutes out of your busy schedule to stretch your neck, your back, your arms, and your legs. Stretch your neck by tilting your head so that your left ear moves toward your left shoulder. Pause when you feel a stretch and hold this position for twenty seconds. Be sure to breathe deeply to help your muscles relax. After twenty seconds, slowly move your head back to its normal position. Then tilt your head to the other side and hold for twenty seconds.

Work Is Insane And Your Boss Is Driving You Nuts

Taking just a couple of minutes for some deep breathing and gentle stretching during a hectic day will help instill the mental clarity to organize your thoughts, says Kim Watters, Fitness Manager at Red Mountain Resort in Utah. Here are her three favorite officefriendly stretches. Hold each one for at least 20 seconds.

Abs and side stretch: Sit near the front edge of your desk chair. Lengthen your arms overhead and exaggerate your reach. Now stretch up through your right hand, lengthening the right side of your body more while pressing down with your left heel. Switch hands and repeat to the other side.

Neck stretch: Sit near the front edge of your chair. Raise your shoulders up and press down. Repeat a few times. Then roll them forward, up, back and then down. Repeat a few times. Turn your head as far to the right as possible. Repeat to the left. Now, tilt your head to the right and then repeat to the left. Finally, tilt your chin down and then pull it in towards the chest.

Back stretch: Sit forward on your chair with your legs a little wider than your hips. Lean forward from the hips and drop your torso down so your head is resting between your thighs . Let your head and arms hang down toward the floor.

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How Does Stress Affect Pregnancy

Stress during pregnancy can arise for a number of different reasons. People who are pregnant may feel stressed about their pregnancy, especially if they have complications like high blood pressure, gestational diabetes, and preeclampsia. Pregnant women may also feel stressed by other unrelated issues like finances, work or school responsibilities, caring for other children, and conflict in relationships. Pregnancy is a time when a woman undergoes significant hormonal shifts, which may also contribute to an increase in feelings of stress, anxiety, and depression.2

High levels of stress during pregnancy can have a physical and emotional impact on the mother. Mothers who are stressed during pregnancy have a higher risk of miscarriage and are more likely to develop pre-eclampsia, a dangerous condition that involves high blood pressure.3 Stress during pregnancy is also linked to depression and anxiety for the mother.1

Experiencing depression and anxiety during pregnancy is concerning because it increases the risk of postpartum depression, a form of depression that develops shortly after giving birth.4 Women dealing with stress during pregnancy may have a more difficult pregnancy and a hard time enjoying the experience of being pregnant.

Ways To Relieve Stress During Pregnancy

Use this expert-tested advice to help you dodge pregnancy stress and keep calm in any situation while you’re expecting.

Every woman has some everyday anxiety, but soontobe moms can pile on a few more factors sure to send even the coolest cucumber into night sweats .

You know that stress is bad for your mental and physical healthand it could have an effect on your baby as well. Some studies have found that elevated levels of maternal cortisol may lead to shorter pregnancies and possibly affect the baby’s development.

So while we can’t do anything about your unrelenting boss , stress relief is just a few deep breaths away. Here, experts share their best techniques for prickly situations.

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Know What To Expect With Labor And Birth

Nervous, scared, anxious, overwhelmedthese are all normal feelings pregnant women feel. Knowing what happens during labor and delivery, though, like what you should expect with your body and the baby as well as your before and after care options, can help you feel more confident and at ease as you prepare to give birth. So read articles and books about labor and delivery. Attend birthing and parenting classes. Journal about your intuition to better trust your instincts once baby comes. Ask your OB or midwife questions. Write out a birth plan. Take a tour of the hospital or birth center youll be giving birth in.

What Are The Common Pregnancy Fears And Worries

Pregnancy is a very beautiful phase for most women. At some points in those nine months, it can be an on-top-of-the-world and exciting time, and at others it can plunge you in the depths of gloom and despair. Mood swings are common during pregnancy due to all the hormonal changes that are happening in the body. These hormonal changes, in turn, affect the levels and functioning of the neurotransmitters leaving the pregnant woman exposed to a range of emotions and reactions. Every woman has her own threshold of dealing with anxieties and stresses: for some, it is more difficult to cope with the changes and uncertainties that pregnancy brings, while for others the pain of delivery might be giving them jitters. Some of the common worries, shared with me, by some pregnant women include:

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Tips For Managing Stress And Pregnancy

Here are some tips for managing stress during pregnancy.

Health and lifestyle

• Do some exercise, like walking. As well as lowering stress, it has overall health benefits.
• Try to rest where you can, and avoid booking in too many activities. Its OK to lie on the couch, take a break and slow things down.
• Do some activities that distract or engage you, like reading, watching your favourite TV show, baking, painting or something else you enjoy.
• Try to take pressure off yourself to be perfect. Accept that youre doing the best you can. Try not to worry if things arent quite the way you want them to be for example, if your house is messy.
• Ask for practical help or say yes when someone offers practical help during pregnancy and after your baby is born.
• Try yoga, meditation, breathing exercises or relaxation. If you cant get to classes, you can look for online videos or use a smartphone app.

Family and friends

• Spend time with people who make you feel good and help you de-stress.
• Ask for and accept help with things youre struggling with. Support from people around you can help you manage stress.
• Consider asking someone to be gatekeeper that is, if you have trouble saying no or slowing down, ask your partner or someone close to you to say no for you.
• Connect with other expectant parents for example, you could use social media to connect with other parents or parents-to-be.

Causes Of Anxiety During Pregnancy

Some women experience a decrease in their symptoms during pregnancy, but your anxiety may get worse. After all, not everything that makes you feel anxious is under your control. Hormonal changes during pregnancy may affect the chemicals in your brain. This can cause anxiety.

Pregnancy is also a time of tremendous change. Some of these feelings and sensations are welcomed, while others are downright uncomfortable and scary. You may even have complications or other issues that arise that keep you up at night.

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How Stress During Pregnancy Can Affect Your Baby

Even though we do not fully understand all the different mechanisms that take place when were under stress, enough scientific studies suggest that prolonged and intense stress can affect the way a baby develops.

One thing we know for sure is that the stress hormone cortisol reaches your babys bloodstream through the placenta.

The additional strain of dealing with traumatic and intense events that in many cases originate before pregnancy can influence your overall health and add to the effects of the stress. Recent evidence suggests that stress, when it is intense and lasts for extended periods, can leave its mark on how your babys brain develops.

Again, it’s important to note that levels of stress that these studies included catastrophic events like massive fires or hurricanes and not the more moderate levels of stress that you might experience from worrying about the bills or about your relationship.

Physical Symptoms Of Stress In Pregnancy

• Headaches

• Overeating or not eating enough
• Increased likelihood of consuming alcohol, nicotine, or other addictive substances

It’s normal to feel some amount of stress in our day-to-day lives. Stress motivates us to adjust to new situations and develop new coping strategies to face life’s problems.

But, when you are under stress for too long it is time to talk about what youre experiencing with your partner, midwife, a close friend, and/or family member. Especially if any of the symptoms listed above are very intense and last for more than two weeks.

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Ways To Reduce Your Stress

Women with too much stress need to learn healthy ways to deal with it. Here are some tips:

1. Talk about itShare the joys, problems and worries of pregnancy with someone close to you. This can make your pregnancy seem less stressful. If, for some reason, you do not have the support of your partner, try to spend time with other people whose company you enjoy.

2. Learn about pregnancy and childbirthAttend prenatal classes and meet other women going through pregnancy, too. The breathing and concentration exercises you will learn for childbirth can help you relax now. By knowing what to expect and being prepared, you can reduce any worry you may be feeling about the birth itself. Working with your health-care provider and support person to prepare a birth plan may help, too.

3. Get activeExercise is a proven way to lift your spirits and reduce stress.

4. Rest and relaxMake sure you are sleeping enough. Learn other ways to rest and relax. Your public library will have books and audiotapes about reducing stress and learning to relax.

Excerpted from Healthy Beginnings: Giving your baby the best start, from preconception to birth, copyright 2009 The Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada.

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Wondering How To Manage Stress During Your Pregnancy

Those stressful feelings can be defused with lifestyle and mind-set changes, making your well-being and your babys development a center point of your routine. Growing a child is a full-time job. Letting other things take a lower priority is not only natural and right, but it is a healthy decision within your control.

First, some things to avoid include withdrawing from people, sleeping excessively, and eating empty calories. Inactivity and self-isolation may be signs of the problem developing. Lets look at some of the ways that women are finding time and space to focus on relaxation during pregnancy.

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