Pregnancy brings a lot of different emotions.
Often, it can be harder to do the inner work of managing your thoughts and feelings because of all the additional hormonal changes happening in your body.
For example, if you normally don’t worry that much, but then find yourself worrying a lot during pregnancy, it’s normal.
Because it’s harder to manage your emotions during pregnancy, it’s even more important that you have a way to manage your mind and process your feelings. Otherwise, pregnancy can take a toll on your mental health. Click here for mental health statistics from Mental Health Foundation.
- Teaching Kids About Thoughts And Feelings (podcast)
Importance Of Mental Health During Pregnancy
Mental health can affect your physical well-being and taking care of mental health during pregnancy is just as important as taking care of your physical health.
Yet, it’s something that’s so often overlooked.
So, today, I’m sharing different ways that you can prioritize your mental health during pregnancy.
1. Watch for signs of depression or anxiety
While it’s normal to feel anxious, watch for signs of anxiety, depression, or even bipolar disorder.
For example, if you’re experiencing anxiety during pregnancy, you want to talk with your health services or health care provider.
There’s no shame in going to a physician or other medical health professional for this kind of help. Even just asking questions to a physician for signs can be helpful.
Watching for mental health problems during pregnancy is going to benefit not just you, but also the baby.
Resources:
- Disagreements In Marriage (podcast)
- How To Calm Anxiety During Pregnancy (blog post)
2. Start a mindfulness practice
Start a mindfulness practice every day to help prioritize your mental health during pregnancy.
Mindfulness helps you calm down the mental chatter in your brain so your negative thoughts aren’t so powerful. Instead of those thoughts running your life, you gain awareness over them and they lose their grip.
Get started by taking my How To Become A Mindful Mom Free Class to learn an easy four-step method for mindfulness.
3. Notice your feelings (and label them)
Every day, notice how you’re feeling.
Ask yourself, “what’s the one-word feeling I’m experiencing today?”
Then name the feeling (such as mad, disappointed, frustrated, content, joyful, appreciative, etc).
This practice of labeling how you feel once every day is a way for you to check in with yourself and get connected to your body. It also gets you out of your head, which calms down your nervous system.
Resources:
- Thursday Inspo (free weekly email newsletter)
- Relationship Stress During Pregnancy (blog post)
- Rest On Purpose (podcast)
4. Start a journaling practice
Getting your thoughts and feelings out onto paper can be very therapeutic.
You can do this by starting an easy journaling practice, where you write for just 10 minutes every day.
It doesn’t have to be every day either. I go through phases in my life where I journal more or less often. If I’m going through a challenge of having big emotions, this is when I journal more. You could do this during pregnancy or after your baby is born.
There’s so much clarity that comes from journaling, and it’s an easy way for you to check in with yourself and prioritize your mental health.
Download my 75 Journal Prompts For Moms here.
5. Allow your feelings without resisting them
When you feel big feelings, practice allowing them.
Allowing feelings means you welcome how you’re feeling without trying to “fix” or solve them.
It’s something we’re not taught growing up, and yet, can be very powerful.
This means breathing through your feelings, watching them, and welcoming them without trying to resist or push them away.
Resources:
- 11 Ways To Avoid Stress During Pregnancy (blog post)
- Podcast Directory (free download)
A Final Note!
Mental health during pregnancy is so important, not just for you as the mom, but also for the baby.
The baby’s development can be affected by the mother’s mental health.
So, if you’re feeling stressed, or worse, think you’re experiencing something like depression, talk with your specific medical provider. They’ll have resources for you.
Your emotional health matters and by prioritizing it, you’re taking care of both you and baby.