During pregnancy, a woman’s psyche, already quite labile, often cannot withstand hormonal changes. A woman’s well-being, mood, and behavior change.
It is important to draw the line between a healthy reaction and neurosis. Unlike short-term, unstable reactions of a healthy person, neuroses significantly affect a woman’s life - they limit her ability to work, interfere with her daily activities, and create problems in communicating with her family.
Pregnancy is a strong emotional and physical stress, it may well cause neurosis.
Neuroses during pregnancy can be divided into two subtypes: neuroses during pregnancy and neuroses that arise after childbirth.
Stress during pregnancy
During pregnancy, hormonal fluctuations and physical changes in a woman's body can affect her emotional well-being. Quite often, women can arrive both in a state of absolute happiness and, for one reason or another, experience discomfort, stress, and irritation. How to overcome stress during pregnancy? Correct lifestyle and support from loved ones
Lifestyle plays a major role in overcoming stress during pregnancy. A pregnant woman needs proper rest: she needs to sleep more, practice a nutritious healthy diet, and in no case should she overeat. An important component of good health is daily walks and a pleasant appearance. Always remain as beautiful. Help and understanding of your immediate environment and shared leisure time are very important. And the pregnant woman herself, in order to avoid stressful situations, needs to develop a positive attitude towards everything that happens around her.
However, sometimes it is necessary to resort to additional measures. Unfortunately, medications that could be taken without harm before pregnancy carry certain risks for the health and development of the fetus during a woman’s pregnancy.
The effect of antidepressant drugs on the health of a pregnant woman
One of the consequences of using antidepressant drugs during the third trimester of pregnancy, which has been confirmed by many studies, is neonatal syndrome, which can include irritability, poor feeding, sleep disturbances and other symptoms. The duration of this syndrome is different for all women and varies from several days to several weeks.
The effect of antidepressant drugs on a child's health
A 2015 study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that some birth defects were about two to three times more common in babies born to women who took antidepressant medications early in pregnancy. Newborns may experience some deviations from the normal state, such as an increase in the number of heartbeats, a decrease in the activity of the gastrointestinal tract, impaired adaptation of the respiratory system, possible difficulties with feeding, diarrhea (loose stools), etc.
Considering all of the above, antidepressants are used in the most severe cases. The choice of the drug and its dosage is carried out only by the supervising obstetrician-gynecologist
Taking herbal medicines during pregnancy
Plant foods have been helping combat stress and anxiety for centuries, and some can be safely used during pregnancy.
Schisandra (Melissa)
has antibacterial and soothing effects (according to research from New York University Langone). Dried lemongrass leaves can be steeped in hot water to make tea. It is also useful to perform aromatherapy using lemon balm oil. It literally drives away melancholic moods and depression, calms the nervous system and allows you to overcome dark, obsessive emotions. With the help of lemon balm aroma you can get out of a state of shock, panic, hysteria; it lifts your mood and brings inner peace, and also effectively regulates sleep disorders. By increasing emotional tone, it promotes concentration, intellectual functioning, memorization and effective learning.
Chamomile
According to the NaturalMed database, research on this plant shows its safety and effectiveness in treating anxiety and insomnia. In addition, due to the high content of calcium and magnesium in its composition, chamomile helps relieve stress on joints and muscles that can occur during pregnancy and aggravate feelings of anxiety and discomfort.
Valerian officinalis
Scientific studies have shown that valerian does not have any negative effect on the little person developing in the womb. This fact is comforting for many pregnant women, who often feel not very confident, and sometimes even quite nervous, during the period of bearing a baby. However, you should not think that you can use this medicine whenever you want and in unlimited doses. Valerian, which has a sedative and antispasmodic effect on the body, can become truly indispensable for pregnant women, but it must be prescribed by a doctor. Valerian officinalis can be used occasionally to help calm or relax if you are tired or upset. If we are talking about a medical prescription, then do not forget that the doctor will most likely prescribe you a whole course of treatment. More often, doctors prescribe this plant and drugs based on it in combination with other medications. The effect of the drug does not occur instantly, but gradually. However, the duration of action is quite long. If a doctor has prescribed a course for you, then he is most likely counting on the cumulative effect that occurs with constant use. The dose is usually determined by a doctor who is familiar with your body and can determine how the drug may affect you. The tablets should be taken approximately half an hour after meals. This time is the most optimal for their absorption.
Recommendations
It is worth paying attention to the pharmacological effect of the combination of motherwort forte with magnesium and vitamin B6. The Pharmacopoeia recommends the herbal raw materials of this plant as a mild sedative in stressful situations. Thanks to the flavonoids and resinous substances it contains, it has an effect that stimulates the restoration of cells of the nervous system.
Note: data on herbal preparations are based on the study of high quality samples, without impurities. Even herbal preparations should be taken only after consulting a doctor
Stress during pregnancy consequences
A pregnant woman reacts to crisis situations in any case. Worries about the child, about loved ones, about future births and much more - all this accumulates and at some point she cannot stand it. The consequences depend on the strength of the mother’s emotional and physical reaction to all these factors. The nervous and immune systems are affected first, then all the others.
Trembling in the limbs, lethargy and apathy appear, and sleep is disturbed. Stress during pregnancy has quite serious consequences. In addition to the threat of miscarriage, this also threatens to affect the development of the child’s nervous system. Such children are born with low Apgar scores, they may also have problems adapting to society, are hyperactive and give in to fears, resulting in enuresis.
How does stress affect pregnancy?
Violation of the immune system of a pregnant woman is expressed in the frequency of colds. This negatively affects the condition of the fetus. It has now been proven that allergies and asthmatic reactions in a newborn are also associated with some deep experience experienced by the mother during pregnancy.
But sometimes, even knowing how stress affects pregnancy and the baby, a woman is not able to cope with the situation. Doctors at the Rehab Family clinic will help you overcome your fears, calm down and give birth to a healthy baby.
The hormonal system of a pregnant woman is subject to changes. Glucocorticoids, the so-called stress hormones, are released that affect the placenta, which can lead to both fetal death and various anomalies.
So, the connection between the child and the mother during pregnancy is great, and the emotions experienced by her are transferred to the baby - this is a proven fact. And he experiences tremors and lack of oxygen during a panic attack just as much as his mother. But if an adult endures this, then the little man may die.
A good mood is your doing: relaxation exercises for pregnant women
- Often, when returning home, we transfer our work activity and excitement to the family. Having failed to get rid of the day's impressions, we take out our bad mood on our family. To reduce the risk of scandals of this kind, establish a tradition: when you return home, immediately relax. Sit in a chair, relax and sit quietly. Listen to your favorite music. Try to completely immerse yourself in the sound, disconnecting from all your thoughts. You can make yourself tea and drink it slowly, in small sips, while also thinking about something extraneous, for example, where this tea grew and who collected it. It would be nice to take a walk in the fresh air, especially since walking is especially beneficial for you now.
- If you often feel mental and muscle tension, learn special relaxation that will help you find balance.
It is advisable to perform the exercises in a separate room, without prying eyes. To begin, take the starting position - lying on your back, without a pillow, legs slightly apart, feet turned toes outward, arms lying freely along the body with palms up. The whole body is relaxed, eyes are closed, breathing through the nose.
- Lie quietly for about 2 minutes. Imagine the room you are in. Mentally walk around the entire room along the walls, then in the opposite direction.
- Focus on your breathing. Feel how you breathe, feel that the air you inhale is colder than the air you exhale.
- Take a shallow breath and hold your breath for a moment. Tighten all your muscles at the same time for a few seconds. As you exhale, relax. Repeat the exercise 3 times.
- Lie quietly for a few minutes, completely relaxing and focusing on the feeling of the heaviness of your body. Register all environmental sounds in your consciousness, but do not perceive them. The same applies to thoughts. Don't try to overcome them - you just need to register them.
Perform tension-relaxation exercises for individual muscles of the body one at a time. Start with your legs, then move on to your gluteal muscles, chest muscles, arms, and face.
- In conclusion, mentally “run through” all the muscles of the body: is there even the slightest tension left somewhere? If yes, try to remove it, as relaxation should be complete.
- Lie down quietly again - relax, breathing evenly, without delays. You feel rested, calm, full of strength.
- Open your eyes, close them, open them again. Stretch as you would after sleep. Sit down very slowly, without jerking. Then stand up just as slowly, trying to maintain a pleasant feeling of internal relaxation for as long as possible.
- If you suddenly find yourself in a stressful situation, you can find ways to help yourself and calm down. Here are some ways to relieve stress:
- Calming breathing. Slowly take a deep breath in through your nose. Hold your breath for a moment, then exhale as slowly as possible. Imagine that with each deep inhalation and long exhalation you are partially releasing stress.
- Look around and carefully examine the room you are in. Pay attention to the smallest details, even if you know them perfectly. Slowly, without rushing, “go through” all the items one by one in a certain sequence. Focus completely on this “inventory.” Say to yourself mentally: “Brown desk. White curtains. A bright vase for flowers,” etc. You will distract yourself from internal tension, directing your photography to a rational perception of the environment.
- Engage in some activity, preferably physical (feasible) labor. In a stressful situation, this will act as a lightning rod - you will direct your energy in a “peaceful direction” and at the same time be distracted.
