It’s normal to feel stressed during your pregnancy. This can be particularly acute if it is your first pregnancy and in the early stages of pregnancy as you adjust to the news that you are expecting. It’s an emotional rollercoaster as you adjust to the hormonal highs and lows and prepare mentally for how your life is going to change. It is completely normal to feel a little worried and it won’t do any harm to your baby. It’s often helpful to share your concerns with friends or family, who have been in similar situations, or with your midwife or doctor.
Sometimes stress can be brought on by keeping your pregnancy a secret until you passed a certain stage. In the past, many expectant mums, have opted to announce their pregnancy after the twelveth week and today, an added concern can be worrying about how your boss will take the news or your pregnancy and what impact your new baby will have on your career.
Things may be a little bit different though, if you have to go through an extremely stressful episode or if you are feeling stressed over a long period of time. This type of stress can increase your chances of pregnancy related complications such as having a low birth weight baby or a premature baby too. If you have worries and concerns which are making you feel anxious and unwell, you should speak to your midwife or doctor to air your concerns.
Some mums-to-be recommend doing something relaxing to alleviate the stress. There are many pregnancy yoga classes where relaxation exercises and techniques can teach you how to cope with stressful situations. Other mums recommend pregnancy aqua aerobics or pregnancy massage as a great way to relax. The choice is yours but remember, its about taking time for you to get away from everything so if one activity doesn’t work for you, try something else. And above all, talk to someone too.
Once you’ve announced your pregnancy officially, you will start to relax into it and will enjoy your time being a pregnant mama.
