- Rest and Focus on Your Baby
- Talk About Stress
- Eat Well
Eating well is good for your mind as well as your body. A healthy diet of omega-3 essential fatty acids, vitamins and minerals, can lift your mood.
The omega-3 fatty acids found in oily fish and seafood may help to reduce depression. Try to have two portions of oily fish, such as salmon, tuna, mackerel, sardines, pilchards and trout, a week.
It's thought that the essential amino acid tryptophan can boost your mood. Tryptophan helps to raise levels of the brain chemicals melatonin and serotonin. Melatonin and serotonin help you to sleep well and boost your feelings of well-being.
Your body can't make tryptophan, so the only way to get it is from what you eat. Tryptophan is found in nuts and seeds, which are easy to snack on, as well as fresh turkey and chicken, fish, eggs, yoghurt and cheese.
Keep an eye on how much water you're drinking, as dehydration may affect your mood. Dehydration can also make you more prone to headaches. Aim for six to eight glasses (about 1.5 litres) of fluid a day.
- Exercise
- Prepare for Birth
If you're having a planned caesarean, talk to your midwife or obstetrician about what will happen on the day. Drawing up a caesarean birth plan can help you feel more confident and in control.
If you are having your baby in hospital or at a birth centre, you may be able to visit the delivery suite beforehand. If a real tour is not an option, an online tour should be available. Knowing what to expect from the place where you will have your baby can set your mind at rest. It will also help you to draw up your birth plan.
If your fear of birth is so overwhelming that you would rather have a caesarean than a vaginal birth, talk to your midwife or doctor. The right support may help you to overcome your doubts.
- Coping With Commuting
Ask your employer if you can avoid rush hours, perhaps starting and finishing earlier than usual. This can be done as part of the risk assessment that your employer has a legal duty to carry out and review throughout your pregnancy.
Make sure you always sit down on public transport. If you are not offered a seat, ask for one. Some train operators offer first-class seats to pregnant season-ticket holders, if standard-class carriages are full.
In London, pregnant women who use the underground are entitled to priority seats and can wear a baby-on-board badge to let other passengers know they need a seat. Don't feel embarrassed. Most people are more than willing to give up their seats, they just need reminding!
- Reflexology
Reflexology is most often used to treat the aches and pains in your back and joints that accompany your expanding belly. But that is not all it can treat. It can also help with morning sickness, heartburn, swelling in your legs (if not due to pre-eclampsia), constipation, high blood pressure (again, as long as it appears without the other symptoms of pre-eclampsia), insomnia, bladder problems, mild cramping, and even hemorrhoids. In addition, reflexology seems to reduce emotional stresses, such as depression and anxiety. Reflexology may even be helpful after you give birth — some studies show it stimulates milk production.
As with almost any alternative therapy, you should consult your practitioner before you begin reflexology treatments, and you should be sure that your reflexologist has been properly trained and has experience working with pregnant women.
As in the case with prenatal massage, some reflexologists prefer to wait until you are out of your first trimester before they will work on you. And there are certain complications for which reflexology is specifically not recommended. Talk to your practitioner and your reflexologist; good reflexologists will not work on you unless they're sure that they won't cause you or your baby any harm.
Finally, be aware: Reflexologists often work the area between your ankle and heel to stimulate labor and contractions. Unless you're packed and ready to head for the hospital, make sure that your reflexologist — or, for that matter, any massage therapist you might see — avoids stimulating this area for any length of time.
- Meditation
- Deep breathing: Short of getting a daily massage, one of the most effective ways to ease muscle tension, lower your heart rate, and help you fall asleep is to breathe deeply and rhythmically. Try this: Lie down on the floor or on your bed with your feet shoulder-width apart. (After the second trimester or if you're uncomfortable lying on your back, rest on your side with a pillow between your legs for support.) Breathe slowly through your nose, keeping your mouth closed. Be conscious of your stomach rising as you gradually fill your lungs and diaphragm with air, then hold for one second before exhaling through your nose to the count of four.
- Progressive muscle relaxation: This technique may take a couple of weeks to master, but once you do, you'll be glad you did. It's like a natural sleeping pill, which you'll really appreciate as your pregnancy progresses and a good night's sleep becomes more and more elusive. Here's how to do it: Lie down on your bed or on the floor and tense your muscles completely…then let them totally relax. Focus on one muscle group at a time and alternate between the left and right side of your body. One possible route is to start by tensing and releasing your hand and forearm muscles, followed by your triceps and biceps, then your face, chest and shoulders, stomach, legs, and finally, your feet.
- Guided imagery: Remember when you were little and your mom told you to close your eyes and think of nice things whenever you got scared? Well, this is pretty similar. Just picture yourself in a place you find peaceful or relaxing — a tropical beach, a flower-filled meadow, or wherever your own private bliss may be. Next imagine every detail of that place, from the sounds to the smells and everything in between. An alternative to this technique is to think of an image from a magazine or photograph and fill in every detail in your mind. Visualization takes some practice, but once you get it, you'll find it's a great way to quiet your mind, ease your tension, and help you drift off to sleep.
- Herbal Therapy
Other herbs are considered to be more-general, overall tonics. Nettles, for instance, are said to be able to take care of almost any problem you might encounter, from strengthening your kidneys to getting rid of leg cramps to shrinking hemorrhoids.
Some of medicine's most effective — and potentially lethal — medications were derived from herbs. Just because something is a "natural" or herbal therapy does not mean that it is safe. You should take herbal medicines just as seriously as you take prescription medications. In other words, never take any herbal remedies — not even in the form of teas or powders — without first talking to your practitioner.
Even without an expert's advice, there are certain herbs any pregnant woman needs to avoid because they might cause premature labor or birth defects, or otherwise prove toxic to you or your baby. Just a few of these include:
- Uterine stimulants like aloe, barberry, black cohosh, blue cohosh, dong quai, feverfew, goldenseal, juniper, and wild yam
- Herbs that might be linked to birth defects, such as autumn crocus, mugwort (safe for moxibustion, not for ingestion), pokeroot, and sassafras
- Herbs that have other toxic effects, such as comfrey and mistletoe
Again, if you are unsure about a particular herbal remedy, consult your ob-gyn or midwife before taking it. And keep in mind that the companies that produce herbal pills and supplements are not regulated in the same way as are drug companies. That means that the strength and quality of the herbs you get may vary from package to package. Do your research. Buy only from companies you know you can trust with your life — and that of your baby.
- Hydrotherapy
Depending on your symptoms, there is a variety of ways to harness the power of water. Soaking in a warm tub is one of them. During labor, spraying your face with cold water will help you concentrate and stay calm. A cold compress on your neck will help you breathe more steadily and deeply and decrease exhaustion. A warm compress placed on the lower back can help your pelvic muscles relax between contractions.
Some women believe so deeply in the power of hydrotherapy that they choose to spend much of their labor immersed in water, and some even deliver their babies there. One reason that water works so well is that floating eases pressure on your spine, helping the pelvis to open. Once you're in the tub (or a special birthing pool, if you're lucky) you no longer need to concentrate on your posture — your body is decompressed, which helps minimize the pain of contractions. Plus, if you give birth underwater, there's less stress on your perineum, even if tearing occurs.
No hot tubs during pregnancy — and no hot-hot water at all for that matter. It's important to keep your body temperature in a safe range — think soothingly warm, not blisteringly hot, when it comes to your bathwater.
And while hydrotherapy is fine for almost any pregnant woman, delivering underwater may not be. As long as you're healthy and have no complications, this option shouldn't be a problem; talk to your practitioner if a water birth appeals to you to make sure there are no medical objections. If you get the green light, do some research on how and where to take your delivery dip.
There are many different relaxation tips and techniques out there. This just touches on a few of them. AS WITH ANYTHING, CHECK WITH YOUR OBGYN BEFORE TRYING ANY OF THESE ALTERNATIVE THERAPIES!!!!!!
Sources: BabyCentre and What to Expect
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