1. Rest whenever you canFinding time to relax seems simple, but sometimes very difficult. However, not only is good for you, but is great for the baby, so do not feel guilty for taking the time to “do nothing”.

While you’re at work, trying to find a place where you can relax during lunch and put your legs up and, when you get home, remove some housework. Although many of us like having the house shining, now is the time to be a perfectionist. If you already have children it is more difficult to find time to relax, but you could ask your partner, a friend or the grandparents to care for them one evening from time to time so you can enjoy a well deserved rest.

2. Yoga for pregnancyYoga for pregnancy keeps the body flexible and teaches many relaxation techniques. Practice will help during pregnancy and childbirth. If you are prone to suffer from anxiety or panic attacks, breathing techniques used by practicing yoga can also reassure you.

Find out some excellent benefits of yoga in pregnancy in the author’s bio below.

3. Share your concernsIf you spend sleepless nights wondering if your baby will be born healthy or who will care when you get back to work, you’re not alone. Talking about your concerns, whether with your partner, your mother or a friend who already have children, will help a lot. Other women at the same stage of pregnancy as you, maybe your class who attend childbirth preparation, probably share your anxieties. Talk to them, because they can support each other. And do not forget to use the class teacher, your doctor or midwife, they can also reassure you.

4. Relaxation TechniquesGetting a massage during pregnancy is a great way to relax. There are therapists who specialize in massage for pregnant women. You can find them in the Yellow Pages telephone directory.

The techniques of meditation and positive visualization are also useful. Meditation is a way to relax by concentrating on a point of mental focus or your own breathing. Positive visualization is a technique to overcome anxieties by creating a mental image of a scene reassuring. You can search your local library or on the Internet for some books that teach you to relax as there are more than plenty alternatives out there. There are also tapes or disks to induce relaxation, which come very cheap (you can find on the Internet or in a good bookstore). Choose a time that you will not have any interruptions and meditates for 20 minutes at least.

5. Get ready for deliveryPerhaps you are suffering from thinking about childbirth and how to endure pain, or how your partner reacts. If you learn as much as you can in advance you will feel much more secure. You can learn a lot about all the stages of labor, as well as physical and emotional aspects that mark each stage by enrolling in a class of childbirth, reading books and magazines. If you’re going to have the baby in a hospital, it will also help you to visit the maternity area and enter the rooms where women are in labor.

For some women the fear of childbirth becomes so overwhelming that they even rather have a caesarean section. The terror part is called “tocofobia”. If you feel overwhelmed by fear, talk to your doctor or midwife. Studies indicate that with proper support, you can overcome fear.

6. Changes in the relationship with your partnerSometimes pregnancy can create tensions between partners, for example, if you’re too tired to be intimate, if your husband can not understand the sudden changes of mood hormones that affect you, or the new life that lies ahead – that means less time for the couple and costs – are causing anxiety. Try to share your concerns with your partner so you can face and overcome together.

7. Strategies to facilitate the journey to workIf you work, you may have planned to continue doing so until near the due date to spend more time with your baby once he is born. But the round trip to work can become a source of stress, the greater the more it grows your tummy.

If you are using public transportation, ask your boss if you can start and end the workday earlier or later to avoid rush hours. If your work is done primarily by computer, maybe you can ask permission to do so from the house one day a week.

When traveling by bus or subway, try sitting. If the bus is full and no one offered a seat, ask. Go stagger and expose yourself to a fall is not good when you’re pregnant. Most people willingly gives way to a pregnant woman, but sometimes you have to remind them.

8. Money worriesThere is no doubt that having a baby affects finances. If you’re worried about how to cope with the extra expenses, make a list of items you need in order of priority and decide who you can ask to get them from family and friends. There’s oftentimes no need to buy everything, especially things that are only used a couple of months as a bassinet or small crib.

Make sure that you will receive all the money that suits you during maternity leave. You can talk to the person responsible for Human Resources in your company for advice.

9. Diet and ExerciseThere are some foods that can help balance the hormones that are triggered in times of stress. Foods containing B vitamins, such as yeast extract, bread and rice grain, increase the levels of the hormone serotonin, which is anti-stress.

Exercise also reduces stress, and continues to do so, provided it is a safe activity. If you have doubts, ask your doctor if it is. If you go to a gym class, inform the teacher you’re pregnant to adapt the exercises in a safe way for you and your baby.

Swimming is ideal exercise during pregnancy, because it keeps you flexible and healthy, but does not damage joints. Special aerobics classes for pregnant women are also a fun way to stay in shape.

When you are at work, get up and walk from time to time if your job requires you to spend much time sitting, and lunch out is a breath of fresh air, if only ten minutes.

10. IndulgeThere is nothing more relaxing than laughing, so take advantage of any opportunity to drop some good laughs. Did they just release a good comedy? Then go to the movies with some friends. Your nerves will dissipate with the first laugh.

A weekend road trip with your partner or a few hours at a spa that offers specific treatments for pregnant women are perfect antidotes to stress.

Pregnancy is also the perfect time to indulge from time to time with little luxuries you would normally not allow. For example, when the belly grows so large that it almost cost you to touch your feet, treat yourself to a pedicure.

Indulge! You deserve it.

About the Author

Kind Regards

Lisa Hansen(Get Lisa’s special report, 10 benefits of yoga in pregnancy, for free at Baby Pregnancy Yoga

Help Your Wife Manage Stress During Pregnancy

Do not think that stress management during pregnancy is the ordeal for the woman only. To look at the stressed face of the spouse is in itself the cause of stress. Though for the man, it is the mental stress only. For the woman it is the physical and mental stress combined together! Say, a new dimension to the family is in the process of growing. Therefore, it is a sweet, peculiar type of stress, full of anxiety and aspirations.

Your spouse is undergoing one of the novel, crucial experiences of her life. Her body has given the solace to the creative force of Nature which is working through her. At this time, what she needs is all out support, understanding and love.

Man, if you are capable of loving her, give her the utmost at this time. It would be great psychological boost for her. The woman, if she is pregnant for the first time, will have lots of anxieties about the level of pain during the delivery.

If pregnancy is at the advanced stage, the anxiety would increase by each passing day. The woman has to be strong physically as well as emotionally to face the final part of the pregnancy leading to the birth of the child.

From the psychological point of view, the family support is the best. It is not uncommon for the women to attend “birth classes”. Attending such classes is the first step for her psychological boost. The birthing coach will help your spouse with matters related to pregnancy and delivery.

Even before the third month of pregnancy, your spouse is expected to attend such classes. She will be taught the advantages of the better blood flow with oxygen and how the growing baby can get more nutrients. The company of classmates helps to raise the level of her confidence. At some stage of the classes, she would be taught the relaxation techniques.

Another important stress management tip for the pregnant woman is related to food. You need to be clear about her diet chart, the list of to be given and not to be given things. Bear in mind that she is eating for two individuals.

Regulating hormones is critical so that there is no mis-happening during the pregnancy. So, those fruits and vegetables that contribute to maintaining the levels of hormones, need to be given to her.

Her feelings need to be well-cared for, and even if there are some complications at any stage of the pregnancy, she should not be encouraged to take a grim view of the situation. If she knows the art of meditation, it is much better for toning down the little bits of stresses she is bound to have!

Give her the best in everything. For the best of both of you is going to arrive soon!

Many Stress Management articles are available at Stress During Pregnancy & http://www.aboutstressmanagement.com/stressrelief/

About the Author

Many Stress Management articles are available at http://www.aboutstressmanagement.com/stressrelief/ for Stress Management.

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Excercise and having a very low body fat percentage.

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Causes

Though not at all a healthy aspect, but anxiety and stress are common during pregnancy which needs to be controlled or minimized.

1. The fear of bringing up a baby in a new world puts a new would-be-mother under stress.

2. Sometimes the mother during pregnancy is under stressful situations like break up of marriage, physical abuse, infidelity and the negligence or indifference from the partners. Women don’t get the required psychological support and are under severe stress.

3. Too much work load can be stressful for the expecting mothers instead of sufficient rest and diet that are essential for delivering a healthy baby.

4. Many pregnant mothers are in constant worry for the developing fetus, seldom realizing that too much worrying can have adverse affects on the fetus as well as the baby in growing phase.

5. Over exposure to smoking and drinking can aggravate the stress levels in pregnancy.

Effects of stress during pregnancy-

1. When anybody is under stress there is a constant release of a stress hormone called Cortisol, excess amount of which, if it reaches the baby in the womb may result in high blood pressure of the child in future.

2. Due to high level of stress, the baby in the womb is exposed to lots of toxic and harmful chemicals which later are reflected in poor concentration, hyper activity and lack of self control in the growing stages of the future child.

3. Though it has not been clinically proved, but researches show that high stress levels in the pregnant mother is responsible for the children to suffer from asthma.

4. Stress during pregnancy can lead to asymmetry in co ordination of ears, fingers, feet, elbows and as a result the child shows low I.Q. levels.

It is the dream of every mother to deliver a healthy baby and to nurture him in the best possible ways. So why let worries dampen the dreams? Practicing yoga, breathing exercises, taking light and nutritious diet and trying to remain merry will beat all the stress paving the ways for a happy motherhood.

Whenever you learn that you have become pregnant, there could be a wide spectrum of emotions. You might feel: scared, happy, excited, and yes especially stress. So, how does stress during pregnancy affect your term? Truthfully it can have long-standing affects on your baby even after birth.

It can be almost impossible for you to be constantly happy during the entire term of your pregnancy, with hormones battling for your sanity and the feelings of responsibility for a new child. It’s totally fine to have a little case of the baby blues here and there, but always complaining on negative pieces of your life: (for example, finances or your problematic relationships) can only give you more cause for concern during pregnancy.

There is More to Keeping Healthy While Pregnant than Just Food!

Keeping your nutrition in check, and maintaining the health of your new baby are first and foremost on your list of priorities will make gigantic benefits for your newborn-inside & ouside the womb. Your child has a lot to lose or gain from your thoughts and feeling while you are pregnant.

Research has discovered that stress during pregnancy will translate into health problems for your baby later on.Stress during pregnancy can also affect your babys immune system, and also affects their birth weight.

Negative thoughs and low birth weight in newborns has been linked in research, and it also has the ability to alter your childs temperament and neurobehavioral development.

How Do I Stop Stress During Pregnancy?

You may not be able to trick yourself into feeling stress free, but here are my favorite two things that I learned to help relive my stress during pregnancy.

- Exercise. This may feel like more of a burden and stress inducer than release at first. But getting off your butt and going out for a good walk on a beautiful day or doing something active when you feel stress during pregnancy will release those endorphins and will help you feel much better by kicking away your stress during pregnancy.

-Meditation. Pick up a few CDs the next time you are out that help you relax and zone out. Meditation is a awesome way to hit pause on your life, and to really revel in the awesomeness of becoming a mommy. Enjoy the quiet moments while you have them, the little one will not give you any time to meditate once he arrives!

Stress can affect both men and women. There is a link between infertility and stress. Some women just experience a large amount of stress: be it work related stress, due to relationships, or pregnancy stress. This makes it difficult to ovulate properly or as frequently as normal. Stress in men can also affect abnormal testosterone and sperm levels.

Some women have low stress levels naturally, or because it is part of the treatment and the surrounding environment. Tests have been performed to show these levels. Women were measured for stress when they were preparing for in vitro fertilization. When it is time to undergo in vitro fertilization, the women who are less stressed have a higher conception rates. This is one of the reasons acupuncture has become so popular in helping reduce stress levels for women undergoing fertility treatments.

A person can’t just turn off a switch to control their stress level; though it would be a great idea if that were possible. There are simple steps that can help reduce your stress. Infertility can be stressful enough without adding any additional stress to your life. No matter what treatments you are undergoing to try to become pregnant, you can ruin that by letting stress get the better of you. Just to think that you are spending all that money and time on becoming fertile, just to have it backfire due to stress that you may have been able to control would be an incredible waste.

If your stress becomes so bad, you can always try to do some easy, relaxing exercises that may be able to change that frown upside down. You may want to try the basics at first. Make sure you are getting the proper number of hours of sleep each night. Attending a yoga class a few times a week may be just the thing to relax your mind and body and reduce stress. Or how about trying meditation? This has been known to lower the pulse and breathing rate and this in turn reduces stress. You don’t even have to leave the house to practice simple meditation; you just have to find a quiet spot to quiet your mind and soul.

Spend time with your spouse, talking or just cuddling. All of your communication shouldn’t always revolve around trying to make a baby.

Lastly, you may want to seek the advice of a counselor; she may be able to guide you in a different direction, since medication at this point is not really an option.

Yoga can do wonders!

Stress relieving drugs though are available in market, still gynecologists and obstetricians strictly prohibit the use of such drugs as these can have serious side effects leading to abnormal development of the fetus. Believe it or not researches and statistics have showed that yoga is the best medicine to relieve stress during pregnancy. But one should seriously carry on the yoga to get proven results till the baby is delivered. Basically four steps are followed in yoga –

1. Some mild stretching exercises are adopted for the smooth functioning of the reproductive organs and pelvic areas to ensure almost painless and smooth delivery without any complications.

2. Deep breathing exercises (Pranayama) increases the oxygen level in the blood improving the blood circulation and also providing energy and relaxing the mind, which helps in the better development of the baby in the womb.

3. Meditation helps in focusing the mind, helps the nerves to function in a coordinated manner releasing all tensions, stress. It soothes the nerves and prevents the production of harmful toxins. Meditation helps in maintaining the normal pulse rate. It helps to control emotions, develops self awareness and the bond with the baby in the womb. It even eases out the labor pains.

4. Relaxation is very essential throughout the pregnancy period. Pregnancy itself it very stressful and strenuous especially in the advanced stage. So few hours of relaxing mentally and physically, totally switching off from worries and anxieties helps one to get prepared to deliver the baby.

Yoga does not require too many procedures or tough techniques; neither extra effort nor investment is necessary. One just needs to fix a schedule time and a private secured place to carry on with the exercises. Obviously one must be cautious enough not to strain herself during pregnancy as it may result in unwanted complications. It is advisable to seek professional guidance in carrying out these exercises. One can join prenatal class to get the best advice from the experts and can also interact with other would be mothers.

Regular yoga and exercises can add glow and beauty in pregnancy too! So no use in worrying in pregnancy but it is the time to plan for a new nursery for the new member.

like for example if i have not much support from family(they live in another state)and a fulltime working husband(who does not really help me much with things)these kind of things stress me out..how will it affect my baby?

i had pre-ecplampsia with my first am at risk of getting it again,im already seeing spots and im only 28 weeks…

I do kegals (maybe on average 20 a day)
Are those weight inserts useful for this?
Any other ideas?

Would this be not a good thing for my pregnancy? Should I consider stop working?