Pregnancy most often present with changes in physical dispositions, leave women with the tendency of anxiety even when they probably have the knowledge of the normal hormonal changes associated with pregnancy or had experienced it in previous pregnancies. This confirms the common saying that “ no two pregnancies are the same”, but one thing that is common in pregnancies is anxiety. Many women get anxious for different reasons during this period, but what is oblivious to many women is what effect anxiety has on the developing brain of an infant.
Research over the years has confirmed that women who were emotionally stable in pregnancy, were associated with improved care-giving, leaving their infants securely attached to them with proper brain development.
Below are some of the major causes of anxiety in pregnancy:
- Changes in the physical presentations of the body
- Hormonal changes
- Fear of the health of your infant
- Fear of being a good mum
- Lack of support from partner
- Stress at work, or any other source of stress
Now before I go ahead to write on how you can overcome anxiety in pregnancy, I will list few things you need to know about anxiety.
- Anxiety doesn’t change the circumstance
- Anxious people are at risk of depression
- If you guide your mind and thoughts well, you probably will not be anxious about anything
- Anxiety could inhibit positive actions
- Anxiety could burst your confident
- Anxiety will leave you assuming and speculating without actual facts
- Anxiety surfaces when we are faced with a new challenge; this is mostly common in new mums and even previous mum’s who are to be mums again. Yes, every pregnancy comes with a new challenge and no two pregnancies are the same, but anxiety should be subdued for a better long term outcome.
You can kick anxiety out of the picture during the pregnancy months and there are two things you can do:
- Be intentional about your thought pattern, bearing in mind that the only thing making you unhappy are you thoughts, and this period of your life can be one of the best period of your life, if you can choose to guide your thoughts and stay excited as the changes evolve.
- As much as you can, avoid stress and try to manage stress if you are caught up with it.
Decide to be happy about the new beautiful journey and the new things you will learn from this time of your life.
Edidiong Michael Umoh is a medical entrepreneur, with passion for women’s health during and after pregnancy. She is the the founder of Miked Maternal Services, a venture she runs to assist women reduce stress, anxiety and depression during/after pregnancy.