BY: Sunayana Sukka
Anxiety Pregnancy : Pregnancy is a journey of mother and father, who sail together to reach the destination of happiness, joy, and love. It gives immense pleasure when a Woman comes to know that she is going to become Mom. The period of traveling for nine months is unimaginable for both couples and their family members.
Experiencing baby kicks and fetal movements excites both couples. Right from taking care of nutritious food, clothing, and sleeping a new mom is excited to take care of herself and plan things according to her mood. And yes, pregnancy causes early moms to fall into mood swings which create a lot of stress and anxiety. It is a challenging period for women willing to raise a child. Waiting for blood tests and scans and meeting doctors after long hours in the hospital provoke couples to bear a child.
They are pressured to have a particular gender baby for their family pride and to bring good fortune for them in the future They experience a lot of Physical, Psychological, and physiological changes which irks their mental health. Unplanned pregnancy going to fertility clinics for pregnancy to holding a baby in warm hands is a period of roller coaster ride for both couples. Many studies quoted that having good social support will alleviate emotional and physical pressures, improving the wellbeing of mother and child. Indeed, it is a combination of both financial and psychological play in welcoming a new person into the family.
Anxiety during pregnancy is common and is known as Antenatal Anxiety, almost 1 in 10 pregnant women experience anxiety at some point and is seen common in either of the parents and it can range from mild, to moderate to severe. The expectant mother has concerns over her child’s health, her own ability to be a good mom, and her financial struggle. It’s often portrayed as a time of great joy and happy baby moon days but it is not same for everyone.
During this journey, concern about self-health and the baby’s health can cause an increase in anxiety dramatically. Research says that globally women are on higher side of anxiety than men. Sometimes irreplaceable effects of anxiety during pregnancy can change into revulsion events in a woman’s life. It is quoted that women in rural areas showed higher levels of anxiety than women in urban areas. Hearing scary stories of giving birth and its pain and future complications during the delivery may trigger them. Being a woman conceiving a baby for the first time gives more intense anxiety than the next one. It is where social support plays a crucial role in dealing with it.
Effect of Anxiety during pregnancy on Child’s health:
People having severe anxiety before pregnancy should be in a safer place to handle the journey. Studies reported that moderate to severe levels of anxiety during pregnancy have significant impact on low birth weight, early gestational age, altered Apgar scores and impaired fetal hemodynamics and fetal movement.
The behavioral effect of anxiety has negative impact on children’s nervous system growth and development. They have poor concentration, hyperactivity, and impaired cognitive development in children. Medical findings show that children with anxious mothers face shortness of breath, rashes and asthma. It is also seen in increase abnormalities in cleft clip and cleft palate. All of these factors show long term effects on unborn babies. The cause of anxiety can stem from any underlying health condition like thyroid, diabetes, or any chronic pain or it may be running in a hereditary disorder.
Symptoms of Antenatal Anxiety Include:
Anxiety is of different types and symptoms may vary for individuals undergoing it. Past experiences of missed abortions, running to fertility Centres to plan pregnancy, and loosing loved one in their life may make them to fall into panic attacks and sometimes they have to undergo medical therapy session under doctor’s supervision. Some symptoms include:
Generalized anxiety, Feeling of Anxiousness and Nervousness
Agoraphobia includes feeling tense in muscles, feeling restlessness.
Panic disorder, person suffering with panic attacks observes overwhelming anxiety where shortness of breath and dizziness are learnt.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), relating to past negative incidents and flashbacks, learning bad dreams, and finding hard to relax.
When these symptoms are faced on daily basis during pregnancy can weave into risk of developing severe anxiety which can impact on your baby. Selective Serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) medication is a safer side to be generally used for anxiety during pregnancy where it shows low birth defects reported by many studies. However, women who avoided medication during pregnancy should resumption postpartum, because the post-partum period has a high time of relapse. The clinician has to give complete knowledge to facilitate decision making for the patient.
Managing Anxiety in Pregnancy
CBT techniques play a vital role in managing anxiety among pregnant women. Psychologists usually help patients to deal with CBT techniques and relaxation techniques to calm anxiety. If it shows moderate to severe immediate psychotropic drugs are prescribed by Psychiatrist to relief them.
Doing Relaxation Techniques such as mindfulness, yoga, and meditation.
Having good sound sleep. A minimum of eight hours of sleep is good for overall health.
Journaling and scheduling time management. Finishing the unfinished tasks on day to day.
Spending quality time with loved ones. Taking only positivity avoiding stressful situations.
Good Diet will help to lessen anxiety. Studies show that eating wholesome and fibre rich foods will show a huge change in mental health.
It is a Haul up sign for everyone to come out and talk about mental health openly. Even Fathers do suffer from psychological illness due to family pressure or financial constraints and workload on them. Silent therapy doesn’t work in a sound environment until and unless you talk about it to Health healthcare provider. Screening of mental health seems to be as important as any other to avoid negative impacts in future.
On the whole, having a good relation with either partner and concentrating on the good well-being of child development brings positivity to both pregnant mother and child in the womb.
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