Stress during pregnancy

Stress during pregnancy can be caused by both external and internal factors. From the first days of pregnancy, the body begins a complete restructuring. Nausea may begin at the beginning of pregnancy, later frequent urge to urinate, constipation, heartburn, digestive upset, poor or, on the contrary, increased appetite, dizziness, etc. are of concern. In each specific case, everything is individual, some women do not feel anything like this during the entire pregnancy, while others suffer from all the symptoms at once, and others are tormented by only some of them. Poor physical condition is often accompanied by psychological. Pregnant women, as well as those around them, are tormented by frequent mood swings, tearfulness, irritability, touchiness, increased anxiety, vague fears, etc. In the second trimester, gums may begin to bleed, headaches, runny nose, slight swelling may bother.

The pregnancy itself causes a little stress in a woman, primarily due to changes in hormonal levels. During this period, a woman is preparing to become a mother, which completely changes her previous lifestyle - and this is also a kind of stress. Add to this problems at work or in family life, the woman begins to worry a lot about her future and the future of her baby. Closer to childbirth, a woman is haunted by fear of this process, especially if the child is the first and the pregnancy did not go very well. Stress in small doses is even useful, both for the mother and the baby. But if this condition haunts the pregnant woman for a very long time and manifests itself quite strongly, in this case it is worth seeking help from a specialist, because the negative consequences of stress can seriously affect the mental health of the child.

Around the fifth month, the woman's physical condition normalizes, she is not bothered by morning sickness, frequent headaches disappear, she is less irritated by trifles and she is happy from the realization that a small life lives inside her. But over time, the woman feels nagging pain in the lower abdomen, this happens because the ligaments that support the abdominal press are strained. She is increasingly absent-minded, gets more tired, closer to childbirth, a feeling of fear of this process appears, especially in first-time mothers.

All these conditions cause some stress in the pregnant woman's body, but not in the usual sense. Such shallow experiences do not affect the health of the future person, moreover, with small negative emotions, the hormone cortisol appears in the human body. This hormone, in reasonable doses, is necessary for the child for proper development. And with severe stress, too much cortisol enters the mother's body, and, consequently, the child's, which can lead, according to experts, to congenital pathologies.

[ 1 ], [ 2 ]

Severe stress during pregnancy

If a woman experiences severe stress during pregnancy, her chances of giving birth to an autistic child are doubled (an autistic person is a person with a mental disorder characterized by immersion in a private world, such people have a greatly weakened connection with the outside world, they lose interest in reality, have no desire to communicate, and have very poor emotional expression).

These conclusions were made by American scientists who conducted an experiment involving five hundred pregnant women. During the experiment, specialists assessed stress by its impact. As it turned out, women in whose group stressful situations were more intense than others were twice as likely to have children who were later diagnosed with autism.

According to doctors, severe stress is moving to a new place of residence, severe losses of loved ones, loss of work, conflicts with relatives, etc. It is especially dangerous if a woman is subjected to severe stress from the 24th to the 28th week of pregnancy, since during this period the mother's nervous tension can greatly affect the baby's brain.

As a result of the conducted research, it was found that the emergence of autism is associated not only with genetic abnormalities, as previously assumed, but to a large extent it is caused by negative factors in the surrounding world, in particular, the psycho-emotional state of the mother during pregnancy.

Nervous stress during pregnancy

Nervous stress during pregnancy is common to every woman. Even in those moments when she is absolutely happy, a woman experiences heavy mental stress. Any external irritant, which are conventionally divided into physical and mental, can lead to severe psychological shock. A physical source of stress is characterized by a constant impact on the pregnant woman's body - heat or cold, thirst or hunger, heavy physical exertion. Physical stress is possible with improper nutrition, insufficient sleep, reduced physical activity. With psychological sources of stress, emotional overstrain is observed, this condition can be provoked by a lie of a loved one, resentment, as well as situations when there is a threat to personal relationships (for example, with a husband), social status, financial situation. Also, a lack of time can lead to psychological stress, when responsibility is felt, but there is no time to think about the decision. Moreover, the source of stress here is precisely the person's attitude to the situation.

Stress loads accompany a woman throughout her pregnancy. The main sources of stress here are natural restructuring, pregnancy that was not planned, thoughts about how to live on, about the health of the child, fear of childbirth. Experiences are usually associated with the news of pregnancy, the need to visit a consultation, communicate with doctors, conflict situations in the family or at work.

Stress during pregnancy has a very strong effect on the nervous system of the future child. As a result of frequent nervous shocks of the mother during pregnancy, children grow up more nervous, restless, it is more difficult for them to adapt to the world around them. Children whose mothers suffered from cruelty of the husband during pregnancy showed lower intellectual development than their peers who developed in calm conditions. Scientists have found that the cause of this is the hormone cortisol - the higher its level in the mother's blood, and accordingly in the amniotic fluid, the higher the risk of developmental delays. About 15% of children who have anxiety, attention deficit, delays in the development of psychomotor functions, became victims of severe nervous shock of the mother, suffered during the period of intrauterine development. The most dangerous stress for the expectant mother is when she is subjected to cruel treatment, in this case the risk of hyperactivity syndrome increases twofold. If it were possible to reduce maternal stress during pregnancy in a timely manner, it would be possible to avoid the development of hundreds of thousands of severe psychological and neurological disorders in children.

Experts say that stress and negativity should not be kept inside, it is necessary to get rid of it. Sometimes you need to talk it out to feel better. Nervous tension can be relieved by having a fun and relaxed time. If there is no positive dynamics, you should definitely see a doctor, perhaps you will need the help of a qualified specialist. It is necessary to understand the source of the stressful situation and eliminate it from your life as completely as possible.

Sleep is the best remedy for stress, nervous tension and anxiety can arise from lack of sleep. Therefore, you need to rest more. If it is difficult to fall asleep, you need to do an interesting active activity (as much as you can), then the body, tired during the day, will relax and rest faster. You can take a warm bath before going to bed. Activity to some extent helps to get rid of nervous tension, so you can consult a doctor about special exercises or gymnastics for pregnant women. There are many hobbies that will help you forget unpleasant moments, distract yourself - cooking, walking, photography, reading, etc. During pregnancy, the main thing is to see only the positive sides in everything, avoid stressful situations if possible and set yourself up for the best.

Constant stress during pregnancy

Long-term stress during pregnancy has a negative impact on both the health of the expectant mother and the health of her child. Strong and prolonged nervous shocks exhaust the body of a pregnant woman, she becomes apathetic, lethargic, suffers from insomnia, anxiety causes trembling in the body, rapid heartbeat. Severe stress can cause skin rashes, headaches, pain in the body. With such stress, various complications of pregnancy are possible. A woman may suffer from increased toxicosis, chronic diseases are exacerbated, the newborn may have congenital malformations.

In addition, constant nervous tension has a negative effect on the immune system, which is already greatly weakened during pregnancy. The body's weak defenses cannot cope with viruses entering the body, so the woman is in a constant state of illness. The severe physical condition is aggravated by an even more severe mental one - complete discontent, apathy, irritability. But no matter how hard it is for the woman, at this moment it is even harder for the unborn child, and if the woman does not come to her senses in time and does not bring her mental state back to normal, this child may never know what life is.

Constant stress during pregnancy has very serious consequences, which is why it is necessary to get rid of it as quickly as possible. The best option during pregnancy is to learn to avoid such nervous shocks. A woman in this position should think more about pleasant things, she should be able (or learn) to relax, perhaps it would not be superfluous to attend special yoga courses for pregnant women. All existing problems should not be kept to yourself, they should be immediately expressed, discussed in a calm environment with loved ones. If you want to cry - cry, if you want to laugh - laugh, you should never be embarrassed by your own feelings, especially this applies to pregnant women, for whom a good emotional state is extremely important. Your motto during this period should be "movement is life." Try to walk as often as possible, swimming is very useful for pregnant women. As you know, sleep cures all diseases, stress is one of them. If you do not get enough sleep, then stress in this case is guaranteed.

[ 3 ], [ 4 ], [ 5 ]

Consequences of stress during pregnancy

Stress contributes to the reduction of the body's defenses. If a person is subject to frequent stressful conditions, he is more susceptible to infectious diseases, and this is extremely harmful for a pregnant woman. But, stress during pregnancy is a fairly common condition, unfortunately. If the stress condition is not deep and passes relatively quickly, then there is nothing dangerous about it. Such mild and short-term conditions, as it were, train the woman's body before childbirth, strengthen the baby's nervous system while still in the tummy.

The situation is different with prolonged, severe stress during pregnancy. This condition is harmful both to the woman herself and to her future child. A prolonged depressed state drains vital forces. The woman becomes lethargic, sleepy, suffers from insomnia at night. The baby will have the same condition when he is born, if the mother does not find the strength to overcome this difficult condition.

Stress during pregnancy has serious consequences: severe anxiety, which can occur even without serious reasons, tachycardia (rapid heartbeat), trembling in the hands, in the chest, dizziness, headaches, rash (appears in especially sensitive women). Toxicosis manifests itself much more severely, as a result of a weakened immune system of the woman, which threatens pathologies in the development of the child.

The central nervous system of the child is especially affected. If the pregnant woman was constantly in a state of stress, the nervous system of her child will be extremely vulnerable. Even at a conscious age, it will be very difficult for the child to adapt to the outside world, he will be very restless, nervous, anxious. Such children are more susceptible to various fears than their peers. Allergies and asthma are one of the consequences of the mother's stressful state during pregnancy, and this can be a consequence of both long-term stress and short, but strong and frequent stress. If it were possible to find a way to reduce the level of stress, many children would not suffer from severe psychological and neurological disorders. If the mother experienced severe nervous tension in the first three months of pregnancy, then her child may eventually develop schizophrenia, since it is during this period that the baby's nervous system is formed. The chances of developing schizophrenia in this case are approximately 70%. Experts are unambiguous in their conclusions: external psychological factors have a direct impact on the processes of formation of the nervous system even in the early stages of human development.

Every pregnant woman has noticed that when she is anxious, her baby starts to move actively. There is a simple explanation for this – if the mother is anxious, the baby does not have enough oxygen and with its movements it seems to start massaging the placenta to get blood with the necessary elements.

A child whose mother was often nervous during pregnancy will suffer from enuresis and diabetes in the future. Also, autism is one of the consequences of severe nervous tension of the mother during pregnancy.

In case of severe nervous shock of the mother, her organism can get rid of the weak male fetus on its own, i.e. it can lead to miscarriage. By the way, but for unknown reasons, the organism does not get rid of the female fetus. It is also interesting that boys who were born when the mother was in a severe stressful state live much longer than those who appeared in this world under favorable conditions.

Fetal malformation, popularly known as "hare lip" or "cleft palate" was observed among women who were in a long-term stressful state during pregnancy. The risk of developing malformation in women in constant nervous tension is 2 times higher than in those who were calmer during pregnancy. Very anxious women risk giving birth prematurely, the weight of the child in this case will be much lower than normal and the chances of survival for such children are very small. If such children survive, then they have deformation of all body functions, so such children are prone to frequent illnesses.

Conflict situations in the family can lead to mental and emotional inhibition in the child. Also, frequent quarrels in the family can provoke premature birth or miscarriage. Constant stress leads to a long delivery, during which the child may die. Poor sleep, dissatisfaction with oneself, severe fatigue lead to premature and rapid birth.

Stress during pregnancy is a condition that needs to be dealt with immediately. A woman should first of all think about the health of her baby, whose life now completely depends on her, not only on a strong physical condition, but also on a balanced emotional and mental one. A woman should remember that any anxious state of hers cuts off oxygen to her child, he literally begins to suffocate. It is for this reason that when a mother is nervous, he begins to actively move to show her how bad he is now.

There is no need to take everything to heart, no life situation, be it a prestigious job or a forced move to a new place where there are no acquaintances, is worth your child suffering all his life from the severe consequences of your stress, which he felt while still in your tummy.

[ 6 ], [ 7 ], [ 8 ], [ 9 ], [ 10 ], [ 11 ]