Mental Health During Pregnancy: 6 Must-Try Tips for Happy Pregnancy
06/03/2023
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It is essential for you to take care of your mental health during pregnancy. Here is a list of a few things that you can do to make yourself feel better.
As much as pregnancy makes you feel happy, it also gives you mixed feelings—overthinking, sickness, nausea, and so on—which affect your mental health.
Mental Health During Pregnancy
Almost all pregnant women go through anxiety, especially with their first pregnancy, as everything feels new, and they don’t know what to do or how to react.
What Causes Stress During Pregnancy?
As much as it is common for women to go through stress, there are a few major causes affecting their mental health while pregnant.
Physical Pain:
Physical pain is one of the main causes that disturb mental health during Pregnancy.
Almost all pregnant women go through one or other kind of pain or nausea during Pregnancy which triggers their stress.
Fear of Labor:
Fear of Labor is another common reason pregnant women feel overwhelmed and stressed.
Insomnia:
As we all know, Lack of sleep is another common cause of stress and anxiety.
Hormonal Changes:
There will be a lot of hormonal changes and imbalances during your Pregnancy, which makes you feel a mix of emotions and stresses you out.
Some women compare themselves with others and feel insecure about their body weight, stretch marks, hair, and so on, which adds to the stress.
6 Ways to Take Care of Your Mental Health During Pregnancy
There could be many reasons for you to be stressed and worried, but it will only make the journey even harder for you.
Here are the ways how you can take care of your mental health while pregnant:
1. Talk to someone:
As basic as it sounds, talking to someone you are extremely comfortable with helps you a lot in your pregnancy journey.
As a mom-to-be, there might be a lot of questions and concerns that bother you.
So make sure you talk to someone and tell them how you feel.
Sometimes, keeping things to ourselves and overthinking it could cause stress and anxiety and hence talking with someone makes you feel heard and helps you ease out stress.
2. Meditation:
Sometimes, the only reason for your stress could be overthinking. For you to overcome it, try doing meditation.
Meditation is known to work for people with stress and anxiety and it also makes you stop over thinking as you need to concentrate on your breath work.
3. Sleep:
Sleep is the most crucial factor that causes stress and anxiety.
As a pregnant woman, it might be difficult for you to sleep well, but make sure you take small naps during the day.
Try to get that 8-hour sleep during the nighttoo. Ample rest definitely helps you relieve stress and boost your mental health.
4. Practice Optimism:
When it comes to stress due to the fear of labor or body image issues, staying optimistic can help you to a great extent.
Practice positive affirmations and end your day with a gratitude journal. Staying optimistic goes a long way in your pregnancy journey.
6. Professional Help:
Seek professional help if you cannot handle the stress all by yourself. If you do not have someone to talk to or if you are going through a tough time in your personal life, opt for professional help.
There are a lot of online resources that are available these days, which come in handy for pregnant women.
Conclusion:
Mental health during pregnancy is equally essential to your physical health. So as much as we all prioritize physical health, we should prioritize mental health.
It is okay for you to feel overwhelmed with everything happening, but make sure you don’t stress yourself too much. Make sure you seek professional help if the condition worsens.
Dr. Deepthi Jammi (Director, Jammi Scans) is a qualified OB/GYN and Post-Doc in Maternal Fetal Medicine. As a pregnancy ultrasound expert, she is passionate about healthy pregnancies and works towards spreading awareness on the latest diagnostic options available for parents to choose from. Dr.Deepthi has received gold medals and awards in Fetal Medicine at international and national conferences, and has appeared in numerous prestigious regional magazines and TV interviews.