Stress prevention during pregnancy

Stress has become an inevitable psychic state and definitely a part of our daily, hectic lives. Being overloaded with work, private obligations and unpredictable misfortunes makes people incapable of living normally and handling even basic responsibilities. Stress can further lead to anxiety, deep depression or a complete madness. The best way to avoid these is to learn how to deal with stressful situations, in which case most psychologists suggest some useful strategies for reducing and preventing stress, especially during pregnancy.
Feeling stressed is common during pregnancy because pregnancy is a time of many changes. You may welcome these changes, but they can add new stresses to your life.
High levels of stress that continue for a long time may cause health problems, like high blood pressure and heart disease. During pregnancy, stress can increase the chances of having a premature baby or a low-birthweight baby increasing the risk for other health problems.

Causes of stress occurrence during pregnancy are many. Some of them are morning sickness, constipation, being tired or having a backache. Also, hormones are changing, which can cause your mood swings that make it harder to handle stress. You may be worried about labour and birth or how to take care of your baby. If you work, you may have to prepare your team for when you take maternity leave. You may worry about how you eat, drink, and feel and how these things affect your baby.
If managed well, a little stress can help you take on new challenges. Regular stress during pregnancy, such as work deadlines, probably doesn’t add to pregnancy problems.
However, serious types of stress during pregnancy may increase your chances of certain problems, like premature birth. Most women who have serious stress during pregnancy can have healthy babies. But talk to your health care provider if you have these types of stress: negative life events, catastrophic events, long-lasting stress, depression or anxiety, neighbourhood stress, racism, and pregnancy-related stress.