Anxiety in Pregnancy and Childbirth

Anxiety develops easily when there is a fear of the unknown and also when there is a fear of a previous experience repeating itself. So you can see how it can quickly manifest when you are pregnant whether it’s your first baby or fourth!

You may sense a feeling of in balance, looking forward to holding your new born child yet fearing the numerous scenarios that float through your mind.

Bear in mind that in our society everyone has a story to tell with childbirth – the scarier the better!! But this is where you can pause to think and remember the following:

 

Anxiety in Pregnancy

From the moment you conceive your body and mind are making changes. Your body is preparing and developing to nurture the growth of your baby and your mind is adapting to the wonder of the child you are carrying, so many changes to how you were pre-conception both physically and mentally.

When you think about all the changes that are happening from the change in hormone levels to the development of your body physically it’s no wonder that you can begin to feel anxious. But when you accept that the body knows exactly what it is doing then you can induce feelings of calm.

And this is the great thing – the great understanding – your body knows exactly what to do!!

 

Anxiety in Childbirth

The most common perception of Childbirth is Pain.

But Why is it?

• Childbirth stories from others
• Media
• What we have always perceived to be true – learnt expectation

Now think about this – if your body knows exactly what to do why would we try and stop it from performing it’s natural process? Surely if you are anxious you will initiate symptoms both physically and mentally.

• Muscle tension
• Increase of heart rate
• Shortness of breath
• Panic

If you were to feel calmer surely your body would be able to perform better being less impeded.

 

The “What If” Anxiety Scenario

We all have imaginations, we all day dream, but what happens when we create a scenario in our minds that is worrying – well we become anxious of course.

It’s easy to create those negative scenarios throughout pregnancy:

• What if I don’t get to the hospital quick enough?
• What if my partner or family isn’t with me?
• What if I panic?
• What if I can’t cope with the baby?

These are just a few examples, the list is endless and can have far worse scenarios imagined.

So how about you used that wonderful mind of yours to create the outcome you actually want to happen, then how would you feel? CALM, IN CONTROL!!

 

How can I reduce the Anxiety?

Having a calm mind will calm your body and your baby.

Every moment of the day your mind and body operates on a subconscious level. For example,  you breathe – imagine if you had to think about breathing to make it happen. Now your muscles also adapt and work to achieve your intention , for example, walking up the stairs or jumping over a stream. You don’t have to think about your muscles to make them work either!!

So because your body knows exactly how to give birth so will the muscles within. The muscles used to give birth are not used often, so just as any exercise you may do that may be new can give cause to aching and becoming tired, so will the muscles through the birthing process. When your mind comes to understand and accept this process, then calmness can be induced.

Understanding on a conscious basis will relieve some anxiety, however, understanding on a subconscious level can have a profound affect.

 

Hypnobirthing

Hypnobirthing is a method that uses Hypnotherapy to relate with the subconscious mind to understand the birthing process and to generate feelings of calm and control. The Hypnobirthing Course at AbsoluteU Clinical Hypnotherapy is structured over five sessions on a one-to-one basis to assess and evaluate your personal feelings regarding your pregnancy and forthcoming birth.

The Hypnobirthing Course provides you with:

•  Personal conscious techniques to deal with feelings of anxiety and fear
•  Personal self-hypnosis techniques
•  Personal Hypnotherapy at each session – pregnancy, childbirth, post pregnancy
•  Partner contribution techniques
• Personal audios available

To find out more about the Hypnobirthing Course please click the link below

                   AbsoluteU Hypnobirthing Course