Anxiety over the rapid physical changes, hormones running amok, weight gain, tiredness and nausea are just a few of the triggers of stress during pregnancy. The important thing here is to keep calm and ride it out, after all, you are performing a miracle with your body and yes, you’re only human.

The all around consequences of stress can range from a mild sense of helplessness to severe episodes of depression. They can eventually lead to pregnant women feeling overwhelmed, withdrawn and being unable to function as normal.

The question is, is there anything a pregnant woman can do to reduce stress and improve the quality of her life during this otherwise special and joyous nine months? The answer is, yes.

When it comes to stress by itself, there is no one surefire way that is guaranteed to get rid of it, but there are ways you can deal with it so that you’ll feel calmer and more at peace with yourself. All it takes is a little open-mindedness and a whole lot of will to relax and take it easy. Here are some pointers to consider.

Your body: Understanding the changes within

One of the beautiful things of the female body is that it re-adjusts itself for the growing fetus in the womb. Here are some useful things to know about your body so that you’ll understand why you’re feeling stressed out at times.
Possible stress factors:

• Upon pregnancy, your heart starts beating faster to pump enough blood to the baby, thereby leaving you feeling strained at times.
• Your growing fetus may prevent your lungs from expanding fully, which might at times affect your oxygen intake, causing tiredness.
• Your expanding womb prevents the blood from returning to the heart properly, causing possible swellings to your legs.
• The womb strains the spine and this in turn might lead to backaches.
• For most parts of your pregnancy, your immune system undergoes suppression, leaving you a tad susceptible to infections and mild illnesses.
• Your pregnant body’s iron needs increase, causing anemia.
• The sugar levels dip as the glucose you consume is pumped into the womb for your baby.
• With pregnancy comes hormones that cause constipation.

Now that you know what to expect, you can take better care of yourself and hopefully avoid getting too stressed out. Let’s just take a look the different aspects of prenatal stress and their remedies too.

1. Attend to your needs

Your body is going through rapid changes as the baby grows and develops, so pay attention to it. If you’re tired, for instance, take a nap. Resist trying to impress anyone by keeping a spic and span house 24/7! Remember you will be worth much more to your baby as a healthy, well-rested mum than an overworked, lifeless one.

On that same note, listen to your body’s wants too! If you’re craving for a bowl of chocolate ice-cream, or some other snack, as long as your doctor says its’ harmless, there’s no point of not having it and be constantly thinking about it. It will do wonders for your overall mood and keep you happy and contented. After all, have you heard of a happy, stressed out mummy? Whatever you crave for, give in to them in moderation and you will be just fine!

2. Be in the know!

There are always rewards for being well-informed on the subject of pregnancy, so arm yourself with monthly pregnancy magazines and a few good books. Go book shopping for such publications for they’re good to have at hand for indispensable info and tips on anything at all to do with pregnancy including all possible causes of stress and how to overcome them.

Educating yourself through pregnancy books and publications gives you a sense of calmness and can equip you with all the data and certainty required to face whatever comes your way. Knowing what’s happening to your body and why you feel the way you do at times will give you more control of your life and a sense of confidence to boot.

3. No nonsense and unwanted drama, puh-leez!

Needless to say, it’s the last thing you need! Nobody knows why, but when you’re pregnant, there will somehow be at least one person with undesirable and sometimes even horrific pregnancy and birth experiences, and often, they’re only too keen to fill you in with every gory detail, much of which could possibly be greatly exaggerated to add some punch to the story. If there’s a particular person in your environment that just has to tell you every terrible story ever heard or dramatic versions of their own horrific experience, causing you unwarranted worry, try to stay away from that person! If you must listen, take everything you hear with a grain of salt. Keep your head about you, stay calm, and use common sense. Remember, you can achieve confidence, stability and common sense with self education, as stated before.

4. Exercise releases stress

Even if you haven’t been the most active person before pregnancy, know that exercise, even light and easy movements, do wonders to beat stress! Choose exercises that you like doing. With the approval of your doctor you should aim to exercise throughout your pregnancy. Some exercises that are known to be beneficial during pregnancy are walking and swimming, If you can and your doctor allows it, give prenatal yoga a go.

It has been found to be especially helpful for reducing pregnancy pains and aches, as well as for increasing muscle tone and strength. These, by the way, are all good for preparing you for labor. Exercise also reduces stress, and creates a deeper connection to yourself and your baby. Look around for a class in your area or purchase a prenatal yoga video.

5. Don’t expect to be slim and pregnant

As your body changes you may become self conscious about gaining weight in your hips, breasts, and thighs. Some pregnant women may even have to contend with puffed up face or ankles. It’s all part and parcel of pregnancy – the changes that even the most fittest of bodies will have to endure when they’re performing the miracle of carrying and growing a life within! Instead of concentrating and focusing on the changes you don’t quite like, focus instead on what you like about your body. Fuller breast; shinier hair; a sexier posterior, etc.

You might even say that there’s more of you to love now! Being pregnant may feel like a long time, but it’s only nine months. With that in mind, distract yourself from negative thoughts by embarking on weekly photo-shoots of your growing belly instead. – Capture a photo of your growing belly from the same position every week till the time of birth. Once it’s over, the time is lost forever. These photos could be the most treasured keepsakes of your precious nine months!

6. Feeling emotional? Ride it out and don’t blame yourself

As your baby grows and your pregnancy progresses, a multitude of hormones are unleashed into your body. Your emotions may be affected as well but do be informed that in no way is this your fault and it does not in any way reflect your true behavior or character. You may feel happy one moment and irritable the next. You are not alone for even superstars go through it. If you feel happy, enjoy the moment and make the most of it. If you’re feeling down. a nice, relaxing walk and some fresh air could be all you need to set it to rights. Refreshing showers or a nice warm bath have also be known to work wonders with pregnancy blues and stress.

7. Prepare a birth plan and rest easy

More and more hospitals are now offering options and choices in terms of environment and services for women seeking all available approaches in labor and delivery. As women become more aware of their rights to choices, even the atmosphere and procedures during labor can be pre-discussed in some good hospitals.

Other than the above, pain management options, rooming or ward options and post natal care options can all be pre-discussed and determined for your ease of mind. Why, even which position you would like to be in or explore during delivery can be pre-arranged these days, so take advantage of a birth plan and shave off some unwanted stress right there.

8. Eat well

Proper nutrition in the forms of small, frequent meals/snacks with plenty of protein is important not only to beat stress but also to keep both mum and baby healthy. Never go hungry for it could be a speedy trigger of pregnancy stress. Keep healthy snacks on standby either at home or at the office. Packed nuts, dried fruits, muesli bars and home-made buns or cookies are just some of the satisfying snacks to keep handy.

At mealtime, go for the healthiest choices of food you can manage. Eat nutritious foods that will nourish both you and your growing baby such as fish, vegetables, cheese, yogurt, and/or fruit. If you find yourself often craving for sweet, sugary foods, have a nutritious substitute like a piece of fruit. You can try making a smoothie of your favorite fruits, combined with low fat yogurt or milk and ice cubes. If you still crave other sweet stuff, you may give in to them in moderation and don’t feel guilty about enjoying it.

Remember, being contented and happy may help keep stress at bay.

9. Ignore negative vibes

As your pregnancy begins to show, expect comments from left, right and all over. Smile at the positive, kind and sweet remarks you hear and ignore the others. There will always be the one or two oddballs that just reek of negativity and you will sense it in their remarks about your looks, your clothes, the shape of your tummy and so on. It is unfortunately either the nature or habit of some people to never have anything positive to say about any situation, so do not take such people seriously! Instead soak in the compliments and loving smiles from the others around you and walk with your head held high, you beautiful glowing, mama!

10. Ask help and you shall receive

If you need help with anything at any time, do not be shy to ask for it! There is no need to think twice or feel uncomfortable asking for a little assistance in lifting something off the floor or even carrying stuff to your car. Ditch the need to appear independent and supermom-like especially in situations where you could clearly do with a little help. Remember that you are taking care of yourself and your baby whenever you ask for help with anything. Remember too that most people by nature do not mind lending a hand to a lady, especially one with a baby on the way.

11. Who needs bad habits?

Certainly not you! Smoking, drinking, taking sedative drugs, binge eating and following fad diets may harm you and your baby. So can over-exercising, so do take it easy on yourself if you are an exercise buff prior to pregnancy. Strenuous travel, fasting, long-drawn functions all strain an already-loaded system. Traditionally, a woman takes care of everyone in the family, but if you’re pregnant, you might have to see to your own health first.

12. Stop worrying about your parenting ability

If this is your first pregnancy then undoubtedly you will work yourself up into a frenzy at some point during your pregnancy regarding your parenting ability or lack of skills. First and foremost, every other parent before you had their first time, just like you, so who’s to say you’re not going to be a good mummy?

The truth of the matter is whether or not you have any parenting experience, you will figure out what to do when your baby arrives. So again, don’t worry, avoid the unnecessary stress and eliminate these kind of anxieties during pregnancy.

13. Don’t bite off more than you can chew

Accepting too much work or extra tasks is easy but performing it might cause much physical stress if you’re pregnant. Besides, compared to all other times in your life this is the time to take it a little easier on yourself. Try delegating tasks to family members instead and slowing down to avoid physical and mental anxiety during pregnancy.

Needless to say, now is not the time to sign up for extra work or overtime, especially if you can avoid it. Don’t nominate yourself president of any Mom’s club yet either – you’ll have plenty of time for parenting activities when your baby is already here!

14. Stop worrying too much about baby

Worrying about the health and well-being of your unborn baby is not uncommon and actually, quite normal for pregnant mothers. However, over-worrying can causing stress and anxiety. Remember that women the world over are having babies all the time and most pregnancies go off without a hitch.

Even if you do experience an unexpected surprise during pregnancy, chances are worrying won’t resolve the issue. In fact, staying positive and calm in most situations help more than worrying. Make a commitment to yourself that you will not worry needlessly. Try some relaxation and meditation exercises to help relax you throughout your pregnancy. If you have a habit of researching and reading about frightening or rare pregnancy problems, stop now.

Switch to positive material with light hearted and enjoyable content instead. You will benefit and so will your baby!

15. Resist thinking too much about delivery time

Worries about labor and delivery does little good and does not help at all. Women have been giving birth since the dawn of time and you, just like all those before you, will successfully deliver your baby. Keep telling yourself that. Visualise your uncomplicated labor in your mind. Imagine yourself having an incident- free delivery.

Do be informed that studies have suggested the more you worry and fret about delivery, the more likely you are to experience complications. So, stop attracting unnecessary negativity by worrying and obsessing over what might happen during delivery.