Pregnancy can bring on a lot of change. Physical change for one thing, but also the emotional realization that your life is changing. This can cause anxiety, which if left unchecked can become overwhelming and stressful. We are here to help with four wellbeing tips to help reduce pregnancy anxiety in today’s post.
For some parents-to-be, this can cause anxiety. It’s important not to simply ignore the anxiety and hope it goes away. Our research has shown how important it is to address anxiety early on in pregnancy to ensure moms have the best chance possible for healthy emotional health in postpartum.
Want to learn more about pregnancy anxiety? Click here to find out why you can’t afford to ignore anxiety symptoms in pregnancy.
Here are four ways to manage anxiety when you’re pregnant
1. Routine is your friend:
Remember that even though your body is changing and your taste buds may respond differently to your favourite foods, that creating routine with the things you have control over can help.
For example, can you carve out 5 minutes in the morning to have a cup of tea and have that time all to yourself while you plan your day?
2. Give yourself permission to catch up on ZZZ:
There’s a myth that any sleep lost from sleepless nights prior to baby can be made up for in postpartum. This isn’t really true. Our research has shown that getting enough, quality sleep can help in a major way to guard against anxiety. So sleep in when you can and don’t feel guilty about taking a nap.
Click here to learn how to prevent postpartum depression with sleep.
3. Write things down:
Are your thoughts spinning out of control? Sometimes, the simple act of writing can help. It doesn’t have to be a diary entry with properly structured sentences if that’s not your thing. Even a list can help, or try some free form writing where you leave your writing unedited and you don’t think too much about it. The point is to jot things down quickly.
Click here for journaling techniques to try if you’re don’t know where to start with writing therapy.
4. Talk to your healthcare provider:
We always stand by this. If you’ve been experiencing high stress and anxiety for 2+ weeks and you’re struggling to take it down a notch to something manageable, call up your healthcare provider and ask for help.
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