5 Ways How Moms-to-Be Can Practice Self-Care and Avoid Stress for Healthy Pregnancy

Everyone recognizes the importance of self-care during pregnancy, but most of us only associate pregnancy self-care with following a healthy diet and getting enough exercise. There’s a lot more to self-care, especially during pregnancy.

Self-care requires that you address all of your physical, emotional, social, and mental health needs. Mental health is a big part of self-care that you shouldn’t overlook as maternal mental health has a significant impact on pregnancy outcomes and child wellbeing.

Moreover, pregnancy changes increase the risk of stress disorders, anxiety, and depression, making such precautions all the more important.

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5 Ways to Practice Pregnancy Self-Care & Eliminate Stress

1.    Be Kind to Yourself & Ask for Help

While some moms-to-be may not have the support of a spouse and loving family, many choose to take on all household responsibilities, micromanaging everything all the time. This would be a good time to pause and reevaluate.

Pregnancy is a time when you should be getting more rest, which means cutting back on household chores and other tasks, especially those requiring physical exertion. You need to cut yourself some slack and should talk to family members and other loved ones about sharing responsibilities and finding ways to reduce the pressure on you.

Open communication will also nourish your relationships, which are vital for your social needs. If you feel like you don’t have anyone you can talk to or need more help, it would be a good idea to talk to a therapist. You can check out expert insights on leading therapy platforms like BetterHelp before making a decision.

2.    Take Up Meditation

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Doctors at WINIT Clinic confirm that any activity that promotes relaxation and peace of mind will help tremendously during pregnancy, also preparing you for childbirth. While practices such as mindfulness meditation or transcendental meditation are most strongly associated with a lowering of stress hormone levels and better emotion regulation, activities such as progressive muscle relaxation, deep breathing, and guided imagery can also help.

These relaxation techniques give you greater control over your thoughts and feelings so that you can recognize patterns and change behaviors more easily.

During childbirth, relaxation exercises and meditation can also lower the intensity of pain, as has been proven by research over the years.

3.    Adopt Time Management Practices

Time management is not something that is routinely discussed with moms-to-be and we usually associate it with career development. That’s a big mistake because time management skills are essential for anyone living with a constant time crunch, which is everyone living in the modern world. During pregnancy, this lack of time can get even worse and it’s usually the biggest roadblock to comprehensive self-care.

Adopting time management techniques, such as scheduling tasks for your day in advance, following a timetable, maintaining disciplined meal and sleep timings, and keeping adequate rest time will help boost efficiency and give you more control over your day.

Time management strategies are commonly used for people dealing with anxiety and stress disorders, and they can be just as effective for expectant mothers in reducing stress and increasing leisure time. These skills will also be incredibly handy once your baby arrives and you have a million things to do.

4.    Spend Time in Nature

Although you may be tempted to stay home all day, it’s a good idea to get out and explore the outdoors during pregnancy. Spending time in nature is associated with a wide range of health benefits, some of which are specific to pregnancy.

For example, studies show that women who spend more time in natural and green environments have better pregnancy outcomes with a reduced risk of preterm births and low birth weight. They also have a lower risk of mental health problems including postpartum depression.

Spending time outdoors doesn’t have to involve any rigorous activity and could simply involve reclining in a hammock by the woods.

5.    Get Plenty of Sleep

During pregnancy physiological changes and fluctuations in hormones interfere with sleep, making it harder to sleep through the night undisturbed. However, it’s important for any mum-to-be to take steps to improve sleep quality because inadequate sleep during pregnancy has been linked to an increased risk of complications such as preeclampsia, which poses a serious threat to both mother and child.

Meditation and relaxation techniques will also come in handy here, as stress and anxiety make it harder to fall asleep and get high quality sleep. You can also adopt sleep hygiene practices and use sleeping aids such as full-body pregnancy pillows to increase comfort and reduce pregnancy symptoms that could otherwise disturb your sleep.