No two pregnancies are ever the same - it can be a happy, joyful time, it can be a time of anxiety or it can be very mixed. And there can be an expectation that you should enjoy it and be grateful.
As a practitioner, I talk to women who have very different pregnancy experiences - from happy and straightforward to more complicated and worrying. The reality is that your pregnancy is unique to you. It is a time of needing reassurance, with good information and looking after you - the pregnancy club posts are for you and your wellbeing.
How are you doing?
This is a time to look after you, so it can be important to ask yourself how you are doing and what do you need? What can you do to be more informed, supported and reassured? What can you do to be more rested and relaxed?
Relax & Breathe
If you can practice your breathing during pregnancy, you can learn to focus on and use your breathing effectively. It can help you to manage sickness and nausea, headaches, backache and pelvic pain, as well as any anxiety or stress.
The key to using your breathing is to make it familiar for you, so it is comfortable to use and so it easy and you don’t have to think about it.
Make the time to practice it – just a few minutes at a time.
Bring it into your day so you are using it frequently: start with morning, daytime and evening.
Keep it simple – this is about how you breathe, not learning a new way to breathe. Get to know your breathing and to familiarise yourself with how your body feels when it is relaxed.
“All three of my pregnancies have been different. My first was full of excitement, learning and planning; my second was straight-forward and easy and it passed by in a flash as I juggled work and my toddler; my third was an emotional time with frequent hospital visits and juggling childcare.”
Pregnancy - In Your Words
I asked parents for the words which summed up their pregnancy for them.
Pregnancy can be about a huge range of emotions and feeling excited can be right up there for many expectant parents, as well as grandparents, aunts and uncles. You might be excited about becoming a parent, about having another baby, about getting your home ready.
Your main emotion might be excitement, or it might be fleeting – there are no right emotions to experience as part of your pregnancy. It might be more of a quiet excitement or excitement might not really be there at all if you are anxious, nervous, worried and that’s ok too.
It can be really easy to keep on going because you are busy and you’re just pregnant, not ill right? But please do try to listen to what you need, especially when it comes to rest - ask for help. delegate, say what you need so you can take it easy when you need to because an afternoon nap can be a gamechanger!
Who am I?
I am Janine, an antenatal and postnatal specialist who has been working with parents for 20 years. I mainly work with parents during pregnancy, for birth and then during the first year with their baby. I focus on you as an individual with good information - based on evidence and experience - support and reassurance. I also listen and learn from parents, I collate different experiences so I know what the reality of pregnancy, birth and early parenting is all about.
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