Are you going to the washroom frequently?

Do you face morning sickness?

Are your ankles swollen?

YES!!! – Gosh, you’re pregnant!

Pregnancy is one of the most beautiful times of a woman’s life. Pregnancy is a mixed blessing for every mother. The emotion, excitement, and expectation of having a new born are mixed with the drastic changes that occur in a woman’s body, various emotional ups and downs and much more.

A pregnant woman has a lot to worry about. Sometimes she might panic about gaining weight, her diet or the approaching date of the birth of her unborn. She worries about taking a leave from the work, worries about the bonding with her baby, breastfeeding, and even at times, she feels how to manage if her baby weans and moans at night.

CIGNA published a research report where it states that 64% of the expecting mothers say that their life feels more stressed during pregnancy. Another study in 2008 done by Columbia University says that increased level of “maternal cortisol” in expecting mom due to stress, results in shorter pregnancies and affect the development of babies.

So many ways it is bad for your baby if you’re stressed. Watch this video to know how bad it is not just for your baby but also for you –

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u957jEYqUqo

But, there are ways to cope it up.

Out of every one in eight babies is born prematurely and the premature births are mostly due to heavy stress taken by the mother. That’s why it has become necessary for expecting moms to manage stress and ensure that their baby is born healthy.

During pregnancy you’ll be failing more tender than usual, you should choose the right underwear. Underwear is the layer of clothing that will come into contact with you skin. It needs to be comfortable, fit right and be practical .

Let us help you cope up pregnancy stress and tell how to avoid those prickly situations.

1. Laughter is the best medicine when work schedule drive you nuts

Had a bad day at the office or the work was absolutely crazed? We won’t ask for you to sit in your office chair and do some of those common stretches. We will rather ask you to wrap up your office early, buy a ticket to the movie or a theatre showing something in comedies.

Even you can take the next day off and borrow some great comedy movies on Netflix. Spend a quiet afternoon or evening watching movies that make you roll in laughter. Watch movies like Superbad, Ted, Juno, or may be Bruno and have an overdose of laughter.

Look for things that might amuse you, as laughter will make you feel happier. You do not need to join laughter lessons of exercise clubs, it’s better to laugh naturally during pregnancy.

2. Talk to others, but not just any other – Make friends with a mom or an expecting mom

It is no doubt a great idea to talk to other to burst your pregnancy stress. And by talking to others, you will get to know whether all these changes are normal or not. How have other people coped with it etc? But not just any other person can share you these subtle experiences, but a mom or an expecting mom can tell.

You can exchange all kinds of emotions with them and the difficulties you are facing as well the expectations you have set in the coming days. Sharing the feeling with someone who is undergoing or underwent a similar phase can make you feel good. Even you get to learn about their experiences and when something like that happens to you, it becomes easy for you to tackle. This is one of the best ways to lower your pregnancy stress.

3. Pamper yourself every day with a foot soak and a massage after every 15 days

We know pregnancy is a period of additional worries, and to relieve you from the stress, there are loads of pieces of advice that come from your friends and well-wishers. Exercises, eating healthy, or having a good nap are the most common things we do in pregnancy, but we miss pampering ourselves.

A pregnant mother should take up a massage and foot soak after every 15 days to pamper themselves.

A massage is a great way to bust stress and make you feel relaxed and stress-free. When you book a masseur, make sure to inform them about your pregnancy. Since many massage therapists offer special pre-natal massages to help pregnant women.

The foot soak is something you can do it at your home and do not visit a salon for it. After a tiring long day, as your feet have swollen, it is better to soak your feet. Take a large pan or maybe a shallow bucket. Put some lukewarm water into it and sit comfortably to soak your feet for at least 20 to 30 minutes.

4. Get organized and make prep plans of having a family with fun

Parenting is a tough job, and you have many things to learn in the upcoming days. Preparing for a family, feeling stressed about money matters, job, relationship and even housing take a toll on your health. So the more you get organized during pregnancy, the healthier you grow.

We know that you are worried about having a crib, a car seat for the newborn, or thinking to buy a stroller. You do not need to buy all belongings to the perfection right now. Organize the tasks into small lists and make the list of essential things to buy for your baby. Buy the things which you need as soon as you arrive from the hospital to home. Such as a bottle warmer, a pacifier, breast pump etc. Have a list separate for the nursery to be ready, for your baby shower. Pick one list every day and finish a little from each and keep on rolling those lists. Ask other family members to help you with the tasks. Set the priorities just in the order of your pregnancy months, becoming a mom to starting your parenthood.

5. Listen to yourself and start writing letters to your expecting baby

We know how emotional you’re right now. There are hormones flooding in your body and everything that triggers emotions sometimes triggers your stress. The best thing you can do to cope up with such situations is to sit and listen to your emotions. Validate those emotions. You can also write down those feelings on a paper and get an insight about yourself.

But it’s better if you start penning down these emotions in the form of letters to your unborn. You can keep these letters and give it to your child when they are older. Writing letters to your baby is a great way to reduce negative feelings, bottle up your heavy emotions and reduce stress during pregnancy.

What’s Your Take?

As we said that pregnancy is a mixed state for every woman, but despite having stress we know how much you enjoy being a mother. So it is important for every expecting mother to – “Dream as if you’ll live forever, and live as if you’ll die today.” Pursue your passions or you will fall into the trap of daily grind and might not enjoy your period of pregnancy. If these tips or ideas do not work for you, then it is better you pay a visit to your doctor or consultant immediately