How does stress affect your pregnancy?

Having stress for a while is good, especially when it makes you realize your role. But, if you are worried about your pregnancy, there is something that works behind the scenes. No one can deny the fact that a woman has to suffer a lot while, during, or after pregnancy. Though stress can affect your pregnancy, you start thinking over and over again about small things that may not matter to you while you are not pregnant. If you or anyone you know is going through aggressive bodily changes, you can consider talking to the experts of Aster Prime Hospital Hyderabad.

• Between the procedure of your hormonal changes, you know exactly what is happening with you from the inside.
• But, yes, feeling stress is normal. Still, it is not to create any concern or rush. There can be certain things that can stress you, but you should consider the fact that you are carrying a baby who may become at risk if you will cry for such matters.

What may cause you stress during pregnancy?

During pregnancy, you may develop many unnecessary thoughts that may fear you of losing your child. This may create some aggressive changes in your body. But, if you are going through pregnancy stress, it is time to worry. If you or anyone you know is going through pregnancy stress, you can help them out by knowing these stress causes:

• fear of pregnancy loss
• fear of labor, pain, and delivery
• discomfort that becomes the normal part of life
• certain body changes
• mood swings, backache, tiredness, and certain physical changes that relate to extra room for the baby
• preparing yourself for the maternity leave
• fear of taking care of the baby and giving him/her the exact need
• the financial stress of raising another member of the family

It is of course frustrating to handle stress. But it is equally important to talk about it. For anything that makes you feel stressed, try reaching out for help to your partners and start sharing your thoughts.

What types of stress may you develop?

Stress can affect your pregnancy but you should s=consider that not all stress factors affect you equally. Stress is a normal part of life but still, it is bad for health, no matter whether you are feeling good to be stressed. Worrying about your baby is one of the normal thoughts that you may develop. It is eagerly important for any parent and even you should be worried about your baby in real life.

• But, there is a pressing deadline, where your heart rate starts heating up. If you can pass your stress and are not able to linger, you are having a good job!
• More concerning in life is the pregnancy stress that can become chronic at a certain point. This is because stress can increase the chances of complications with the baby and may also affect the baby mentally with certain other risk factors like low birth rate and premature birth.

Stress is something that makes you immediately respond to “fight or flight”. It is the surge of stress hormones that affect your baby and its management inside your womb. In other ways, the type of stressors that can affect your baby are:

• big life changes like someone’s death, losing a long-time job
• long-term hardships including depression, having a certain financial crisis at the time of pregnancy
• disasters, including earthquakes, or other unexpected traumatic events
• feeling some social issues like racism and being there in a minority group
• the insight feeling of a pregnant woman that may include concern about the health of the baby, fear about the labor, pain during birth, and the future care-giving ideas to the baby

If you are among those who have gone through post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), then you may be at risk of having a premature baby or a low birth rate. In case you feel stressed, reach out to your doctor and try to connect with the resources that may help you.

What is there in science you should be concerned about?

Stress can affect your pregnancy, even, you may notice certain changes like headaches, trouble sleeping, and overeating. These changes in habits can affect your baby too. So, what exactly are the risks to the baby and early pregnancy when you stress out?

• Preeclampsia

It is the primary cause of stress. It can come with high blood pressure and may leave you at greater risk of developing after-effects like misconceptions and long-term hypertension. So, do not have a second thought, if you are being diagnosed with preeclampsia. It is the stress that can make you feel little spikes in blood pressure. Also, preeclampsia is one of the major pregnancy complications that may affect your blood pressure and certain changes to your body organs. It can also lead to early delivery.

• Miscarriage

Prenatal stress can lead to miscarriage. Women who hurt their life and certain develop negative attitudes towards their lifestyle, often develop psychological stress which makes them twice at risk of miscarriage. Another example of psychological stress having night shifts. Nights are there for good and healthy sleep. Many women love to go through changes at their workplace. This is because they often develop strong relationships with their job. So, they love to perform their normal responsibilities while being at their workplace. But when it comes to adjustments, in reality, it often makes them fussy and uncontrollable, which can later stress them out. A pregnant woman should not take the stress. It can lead you to the chances of miscarriage. So, be careful while you are doing your work or stressing out.

• Preterm birth and low birth rate

Preterm birth happens when you have your childbirth after 37 weeks of pregnancy. As you age, you are likely to catch various chronic health issues like heart disease, diabetes, blood cholesterol, and blood pressure. Stress correlates its presence with a low birth rate. You may also develop the chances of premature delivery. It is not likely to say that stress is the only reason for premature birth, but there are chances that you have such issues.

• Effects of stress on your child after birth

Sometimes, prenatal stresses affect the health of a child which comes into view after the birth of the child. Science and research suggest that children are more likely to develop the chances of ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) and prenatal stress after their birth or somewhere in their school or college life. There can also be chances that your baby may develop anxiety and depression in early teenage life.

Conclusion

If you are stressed in the wake of worry for your newborn, try to control your stress by having a good sleep. You can also go for good food, meals or snacks. Try something that makes you feel happy from the inside. Try to change your mind as you may listen to some good music, you can draw something that may increase your interest, you can reach out for help by talking to your partner or someone whom you trust, etc. there are many ways to release stress. Do not let stress overburden you. It is ok to feel stressed for some time, but if it starts controlling your thoughts try to wash them.