Pregnancy brings major changes in Life, hence it's possible to feel overwhelmed during this journey. Planning for the new member in the family brings a lot of joy along with anxiety, fear and stress about upcoming challenges. While Pregnant, observing emotional imbalances is one of the ways to understand your pregnancy and bring acceptance in your life. Pregnancy is a joyful journey of baby movements, kicks and hiccups in the womb that also allows us to enjoy the sense of fear and anxiety for the time being. 

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What is Stress?

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Stress is a natural way of our Autonomic Nervous System to deal with any danger or upcoming challenge. Like, if you face a Tiger in front of you, all you will do is - Run without thinking anything. So, Stress and Fear is the natural state of our body where our brain prepares us to fight or fly, under a lifethreatning situation.

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During Stress our brain releases stress hormones like cortisol and there will be an adrenaline rush to prepare our body to face the danger. In response to that our logical brain gets shut down, all remaining functions of our body like digestive system and reproductive system gets locked, so you might feel indigestion and no sexual urge when you are in stress or anxious, the heart started pumping faster to work more and there will be huge blood flow in our legs to run away from danger. 

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This is the mind & body reflex against any danger that we call STRESS. It is an important process about how our body & mind react against such life threatening situations and provide all possible ways to save our life. 

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Stress During Pregnancy

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This stress brings the same changes in our body when we are worried or we are in fear about anything. Staying continuously in the same state of stress, shifts our body from Normal Homeostasis State to the Stress State permanently. 

Continuous release of Stress hormones during Pregnancy, can affect your pregnant body and your unborn baby. Stress hormones pass to the fetus through the mother’s blood and cause major side effects to your unborn child. This may lead to various severity in your pregnancy starting from Neural Tube Defects, Autism, Down Syndrome, Miscarriages, High Blood Pressure, Abnormal Fetal Heart Rate, Gestational Diabetes, Painful and Prolonged Labor, etc. that ultimately leads to an urgent & surgical delivery of your Baby (C-Section).

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Stress During Labor

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Dr. Grantly Dick Read, who specialized in childbirth & early infant care as a Doctor in the UK, at his practice in 1920 & 1930, he began studying about the childbirth techniques used by his patients & began looking for improvements he could make on the pain relief techniques used during childbirth. In his book, Childbirth Without Fear, 1933, he argued that, “Fear many women felt when Childbirth began forced the release of hormones that moved blood flow away from the uterus.” Explaining the fight & flight theory of stress, Dr. Dick Read claimed that “the urge to flee (or run away from the situation), during childbirth, led to the blood needed to allow the muscles of the uterus to complete childbirth without pain, was moved to the legs as the wish to run away.”

As per this theory, it is very much clear that due to stress & fear during labor, the blood flow that is required for the uterus to deal with labor pain is transferred to legs, due to which it increases the pain perception and ends up with a painful labor for longer hours.

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During labor the working hormone is Oxytocin that is also called Love hormone. Oxytocin is responsible for Uterus contraction, milk production, mother & baby connection, and for childbirth. When the mother is in stress or fear, the release of Oxytocin is replaced by release of Adrenaline by the brain. Due to this release of Adrenaline, the natural contraction of labor won't happen and doctors suggest to induce pain artificially. Slow contractions or no contractions at all, delay the process of labor and end up with Artificial Labor Induction, Prolonged Labor, or Cesarean Delivery.

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At the time of labor the cervix dilated from 0 to 10 cm. Uterus is an organ made of muscles controlled by the brain. Cervix is the part of the uterus that is controlled by the parasympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for rest, sleep, and calming state of body & mind. Any stress during labor deactivates the functioning of the Parasympathetic System and restricts the dilation of cervix that delays the process of Natural Childbirth.

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Treatment of Stress During Pregnancy & Labor

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Here are the few ways available to deal with the stress during pregnancy & Labor:

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1. Hypnobirthing: According to this process, if you properly train your mind & body to let go of all your fears, stress, and tension during childbirth, you will achieve a birthing experience that is not full of pain and discomfort. By not focusing on the pain & discomfort, mothers will be able to completely focus on the childbirth process. Hypnobirthing will teach you how to achieve this relaxed state, letting your maternal instincts take over for a birthing experience that is more comfortable for you. To learn more about hypnobirthing class, Contact Us.
2. Breathing: There are many breathing practices that can be followed during Pregnancy, Labor & Childbirth. Some breathing techniques are really important to start practicing from the first day of your pregnancy to reduce your anxiety & stress, throughout this journey. Few breathing techniques are, Box Breathing, Pattern Breathing, Alternate Nostril Breathing, Chandrabhedan Pranayam, Belly Breathing, Chest Breathing, Wings Breathing, Thyroid Breathing, OM breathing etc. Few breathing techniques are very important for childbirth that will help to reduce labor pain too like, J-Breathing and Pushing Technique. To learn more about Breathing Techniques during Pregnancy & Labor contact us. 
3. Yoga: A soothing & calming series of Yoga Asanas is helpful to balance hormones and reduce stress, anxiety & fears from your day to day life. It includes certain postures like, Child pose, Happy Baby Pose, Puppy Pose, Needle Pose, Tadasana, Warrior Pose, etc. Join a Prenatal Yoga Series Class, to overcome the challenges of anxiety, fears & tension during pregnancy.
4. Meditation: There are different types of Meditations that are helpful to activate the Parasympathetic Nervous System and allow your body & mind to be in deep relaxation. Some of these meditations are Yoga Nidra, Womb Healing, Labor Visualization, Earth Meditation, Nadabrama, etc. Joining a Prenatal Meditation class from your second trimester will help you achieve a healthy labor & childbirth.
5. Complementary Therapies: Many complementary therapies are safe to try during pregnancy. These therapies are helpful in your pain management during pregnancy , also provide soothing & calming effects to your mind & body. Some of these therapies are, Massage Therapies, Acupressure Therapies, Reflexology, Hip Bath & more. It's better to consult your doctor or midwife before starting these processes.
6. Rest & Sleep: Proper Rest & Sleep is one of the best ways to reduce your cortisol level. Sleep provides healing to your pregnant body & unborn baby, detoxes your body, balances your hormones and improves your digestion. Sleeping is a great way of relaxing your body & mind and free yourself from anxiety, stress & fears of pregnancy & labor.

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Stress & Fear during pregnancy are obvious to happen with every mom-to-be. Sometimes it's due to huge changes in hormones, while other times it's because of thinking about future challenges & upcoming changes in life. One day is not enough to train your mind for these techniques, it's better to start following these relaxation methods, from your early pregnancy to release your mind from stress & anxiety at the time of labor and childbirth. Applying these techniques will prepare you for your special day and will help you attain a healthy labor & childbirth. 

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Thanks for reading!

May mother earth bless every being with the sense of fertility, with a healthy body and with higher consciousness. Respect & Gratitude!

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Join our Prenatal Yoga Classes & Workshop on Labor and Childbirth. To Register, Message or Call us at +91-8285579134

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