11 Aug How to help reduce stress and anxiety during pregnancy
Is stress and anxiety bad for my baby?
Stress and anxiety is not good for the body so yes, it does affect your pregnancy. Feeling stressed during pregnancy is more common than you might think. Physical discomforts and other changes such as your body and your emotions are changing in your daily life can contributes to stress during pregnancy.
How to help reduce the effects of stress
Remember that that the discomforts of pregnancy are only temporary. Stay healthy and fit, exercise can help reduce stress and also helps prevent common pregnancy discomforts. Take a childbirth education class so you know what to expect during pregnancy and when your baby arrives. Our full-day childbirth class will prepare you for anything pregnancy and childbirth can possibly throw at you.
There are some free mindfulness apps and podcasts available, even if you dedicate 5 mins of your day to meditation, you can help improve you mental health. Our midwives recommend meditation and relaxation techniques as they have seen how they have helped pregnant women over the years.
Talk to your support network, this may be your partner, family or friends. Figure out what’s making you stressed and talk to your partner, a friend, family or your provider about it. It’s important to rely on people you can trust, even for small things, a companion to attend you prenatal appointments for example.
If you’re experiencing depression and anxiety you should seek professional advice. Please speak with your midwife about how you are feeling. If there are particular triggers for your anxiety then a midwife will need to guide and support you for this.