If you are pregnant, obviously you can’t control everything that happens in your life during your pregnancy.
However, there are some things you can do to limit your exposure to stress, and lessen your body’s response to stress. The following are some recommended stress management practices that are useful for any time in your life, but especially so during pregnancy:
Cut Down on Lifestyle Stress
If there are any unnecessary stressors in your life, cut them out now. This includes stress at work, daily hassles, and relationships that are full of conflict.
Effectively Manage the Stress In Your Life
Because you can’t eliminate all the stress in your life (and wouldn’t want to if you could), it’s important to find strategies that help you deal with the stress that you do encounter.
Yoga, meditation and breathing exercises can be especially helpful during pregnancy, and may even make for an easier delivery. Regular practice of stress management techniques can also provide you with some resilience toward stress, and some tools for managing more serious stressors that you may encounter, over which you may have no control. (Use this tool to find stress relievers that best fit your personality and lifestyle.)
Take Care of Yourself
You probably already know that stress can affect your health, but are you aware that your health can also affect your stress levels?
If you haven’t had enough sleep, good nutrition or down time, you may be more reactive to stress in your life. The same goes for excessive caffeine and other unhealthy habits. It’s important to take care of your body as a regular part of a healthy lifestyle, but it’s especially important during pregnancy.
Maintain a Positive Attitude
The stress you experience can be heavily influenced by your attitude. A negative attitude can make your stressors feel more frustrating and insurmountable, while a positive attitude can make them seem to shrink or fade away. Working on your perspective is a great way to cut down on the stress in your life without having to make major changes in said life.
Get Help If You Need It
Having a child is a major life change, and you may need support from those around you, both during pregnancy and after the baby arrives. In the same vein, if you face heavy emotional challenges that are difficult for you to deal with, psychotherapy may be a very helpful option. Either way, don't be afraid to ask for help if you need it.