Ease Pregnancy Stress for a Healthy Pregnancy and Baby

Pregnancy magazines show pictures of glowing pregnant women involved in all activities at all times of the day, with a ready smile. They don't show the pictures of the nauseous, sleep deprived, irritable, crabby, anxious mom-to-be at 2:00 in the morning who is worrying that every action she is taking is affecting her baby. Learn how Anji, Inc. can help you feel better during pregnancy, ease your labor, and give your baby the best start to life possible.

When you are pregnant, you can become overwhelmed with the physical, emotional, and spiritual changes that are going on inside: Your body is accommodating a new life growing larger each day, your organs are being pushed aside, you are nauseated by your favorite foods, you are beginning to wonder if you are ever going to sleep again - all while you are trying to determine exactly how the baby is going to come out.

Your hormones are making you feel like another person and you are worrying about everything that you are doing, wondering how you are affecting your baby. You constantly worry about being a good parent and if you are doing everything you can for this child whom you already love more than you ever thought possible.

You try to take into account every piece of well-meaning advice that is contradictory and intrusive. On top of everything else, you are positive that you are the only woman who feels this way, the only one who is doing it "wrong".

What we've seen is that most women feel the pressure to be the glowing woman in the pregnancy ad and the perfect mother. There are certain changes that pregnancy brings that you can't avoid, but when you get caught up in the negative spiral of emotions, it can cast a shadow on both you and your baby.

What we've found is that when you listen and respond to all the parts of you that aren't glowing, you end up with:

A peaceful body that feels better throughout pregnancy and knows how to labor
A peaceful mind that knows how to handle the changes pregnancy and motherhood bring
A peaceful baby who is easier to parent once he or she arrives

Once you have peace, you are glowing from the inside out.

So what Anji, Inc. does is to give you the tools that you need to bring you the sense of control and independence that comes from understanding how responding to your pregnant body's clues about your thoughts and feelings let's you experience a peaceful body, mind and baby.

The unknowns of pregnancy often bring on feelings of stress and anxiety. Stress and anxiety during pregnancy can exacerbate all of the physical changes that occur during pregnancy like insomnia, indigestion, backaches and more.

Labor is also a time of unknowns, even for a Mom who has experienced it before. Every labor is different whether you are comparing with your best friend or your last experience. Learning relaxation skills can help you prepare for labor and birth. Even if you plan to use pain medications during labor, often the first stage of labor (before you can receive an epidural) can last for many hours. Research has shown that anxiety during labor can lead to the release of hormones that inhibit labor. If you are able to manage your pain and not build anxiety, your labor can progress.

The good news is that you will spend more time in between contractions than during contractions in labor. Using relaxation techniques in between contractions gives your body a break and a chance to re-energize. Relaxation techniques can help during contractions, giving you the ability to "go deep" to relax your body, letting the contractions do their work. Imagery techniques can help you practice techniques designed to enhance dilatation.

Regular relaxation practice is important in the weeks and months leading up to your due date. With regular practice, your body will hold the memory of relaxation so that when you are in the middle of labor, you will be able to completely relax. Using imagery, you can "practice" labor, building your confidence for the actual event, or release fears that you have about labor and birth.

How could such an extraordinary experience NOT cause fear and anxiety? After all, you are bringing a new life into the world. If you have had any problems conceiving, miscarriage or infant loss, or problems during pregnancy, these fears and concerns will be magnified.

Introducing regular relaxation practice helps to discover and let go of the fears and worries that you have about your pregnancy, changing role, baby, or birth. These aspects will evolve over the course of your pregnancy. Even a woman who has planned this pregnancy for months or years may experience a sense of "what have I done?" when the fatigue and/or nausea of the first trimester is at it's worst. During your second trimester, you may be concerned about the baby's health and development as you move through testing. Third trimester can bring up more spiritually related questions such as, "Am I going to be a good mother?"

Using tools that make use of the relaxation and imagery give you the time and techniques to discover your fears and let them go.

Your actions during pregnancy help to form your baby's temperament. You begin the important job of parenting your child before birth and this is often a missed opportunity to begin to give your child the wonderful gifts of a peaceful mind and healthy birth.

The science and research supporting these statements are described by Fredrick Wirth, MD in his book Prenatal Parenting: The Psychological and Spiritual Guide to Loving Your Unborn Child. Research supports the link between your baby's prenatal environment and his or her later behavior. In a landmark study, women who had a stress that was resolved when they gave birth had children who at age 4 were more irritable and aggressive.

The Institute for Perinatal Education states that the 7 keys to a successful pregnancy are:

Does this mean that you must be 100% stress-free to have a healthy baby? No. What it means is that you want to limit the amount of stress by addressing your fears and worries instead of ignoring or "stuffing" them. You also want to build in times during the day when you are feeling feelings of happiness and love. This teaches your baby that there will be stress in life, but it is always resolved. Your baby becomes stress hardy.

So, you may feel like your pregnant body and mind are a nuisance, and you resent the aches, pains, and daily changes that they saddle you with, but what I've seen is that even when it doesn't feel good, your body's signals are a wealth of information that point you to what needs to be addressed so that you can have a peaceful birth, baby, and role as a new mother.

Research has demonstrated that women experiencing premature labor and using daily relaxation can extend their pregnancies and have larger babies when they do deliver. Use imagery to assist your body in calming contractions, keeping your cervix long and closed, reducing the fears you may have about having a premature infant, and connect with your baby or babies.

As our medical community continues to grapple with what the rate for Cesarean birth ought to be, the message is clearly coming out that many Cesareans are being performed unnecessarily. Clearly there are sound medical reasons for some Cesareans and a healthy baby is the most important outcome of a birth. With that said, however, there are ways you can improve your chances of delivering vaginally after having had a Cesarean (VBAC).

First, you must build confidence and trust in your body that you are able to deliver vaginally. After a Cesarean, many women often feel that they are broken and angry with their body for betraying them. Literature shows that there are very few women who actually have too small a pelvis for their babies to fit through. Building your confidence allows your body to work as it was intended without fear blocking the way.

Second, during labor and delivery avoid unnecessary medical interventions when possible. Only you will know when your tolerance for pain has ended. However, if you can avoid pain medications until the latest possible time for you, then you will allow your body to follow the natural progression of labor. Often once pain medication has been introduced, other interventions must naturally follow. For example, often following an epidural, contractions will slow, requiring Pitocin to be started. This means an IV, continuous blood pressure monitoring, internal fetal monitoring, and a catheter. In addition, you must stay in bed due to the lack of motor control and potential blood pressure problems. This decreases your ability to try different positions to help speed labor and there is a chance that there will be fetal distress.

Third, learn as much as you can about the natural progression of labor and delivery so you can be as informed as possible when discussing your options with your doctor. If you are an advocate for what you desire, your MD or midwife will be able to support your needs as well as help make decisions that will allow a safe birth.

Fourth, consider having a Doula attend your birth. A Doula can help you during labor by providing emotional, physical, and informational support to you and your partner. Research has shown that including a Doula in your labor can reduce: Epidural use by 60%, Cesarean birth by 50%, Pitocin use by 40%, Narcotics use by 30%, Forceps use by 30%, Length of labor by 25%. Click here for more resources on Doulas.

Learning relaxation and imagery techniques can help you work toward a VBAC. You can ease the tension surrounding your strong desire to birth vaginally. Through imagery, you can practice labor and build your trust in your own body. You will practice techniques daily that can help you manage pain in the early stages of labor (and later if you desire) that will help you avoid medications until later in your labor. Regular practice is important to begin as early as you can during your pregnancy. Your body will learn how it feels to be relaxed and it will be easier to call forward these feeling during labor.

Remember...Cesareans are scheduled for many reasons: health of the mother, health of the baby, previous complications, multiple infants, etc. Even if you are choosing to have a Cesarean, you may still have some concerns about delivering this way. Use imagery and relaxation to prepare for the birth and healing afterwards.