Stress and anxiety is not good for the body so it can indeed 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 fluctuating daily contributing 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 an antenatal education class so you know what to expect during pregnancy and when your baby arrives. Our full-day antenatal 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 from your GP. It’s more likely that your GP will be familiar with you and your medical history and will also be a support you can rely on long after birth.

You can seek help from the maternity hospital you’re attending, just speak with your midwife about how you are feeling and they’ll be able to point you in the right direction.