Pregnancy is hard enough without stress. Women undergo major bodily changes. They experience wild emotions and their brains are not functioning right because they are overwhelmed by a wash of pregnancy hormones. Enter stress, and you have a monumental milkshake of nothing good. If you are currently pregnant or hope to get pregnant soon, here is what a gynecologist has to say about stress and pregnancy.
Stress Is Not Good for a Pregnant Mother
Pregnant mothers can auto-abort their unborn children at any point in the pregnancy if stress becomes too much for the mothers to handle. If you find out that you are pregnant, you have to find ways to reduce stress. If your partner is the source of your stress, it may be time to take a break from each other. If you are married to your partner, this may be a little more difficult as you will need to find a safe haven to lay low and de-stress. This advice is especially important if you have experienced a miscarriage in the past.
Stress Is Not Good for the Fetus
What the mother feels, the baby in utero will feel as well. Increases in adrenaline and cortisol, two hormones related to stress, cross the placenta to the baby. While it has yet to be proven, there are some theories that fetal stress can cause different developmental delays and increased aggression in children. The panicky feelings a mother has also transfer to the fetus, creating a sense of fear and danger that the fetus responds to by increasing movement. It is almost as if the fetus is trying to flee, just as his/her mother would in this situation. It is important for both mother and unborn child that the mother not be stressed or threatened in any way.
Physical Stress Should Be Avoided
Physical stress, such as the kind experienced with extreme weightlifting, should definitely be avoided. It has long been proven that intense pressure to the abdomen can cause a miscarriage, and that is very true of lifting anything over fifty pounds. Little hand weights during an aerobic workout will not hurt you or the baby, but bench-pressing a lot of weight puts a strain on the abdominal muscles, which are directly behind your swelling uterus. Take good care of yourself before and during pregnancy so that your baby arrives as healthy emotionally as he/she does physically.
Talk to a gynecologist, such as Desert Rose OBGYN PC, for more tips and strategies to reduce stress during your pregnancy.
Share7 June 2017
Menopause took me by surprise. I thought only women in their 50s and 60s went through it, but I was in my late 30s when I entered this stage in my life. After talking to my OB/GYN, I discovered that my mother's early menopause played a major role in why I started so early. It was challenging to unexpectedly find myself dealing with the emotional and physical aspects of menopause. I soon discovered that I was not alone. There are many other women who started menopause at an early age and they were just as nervous as I was. I started this blog to give voice to those women and to provide emotional support.
