Women rave about pregnancy and all of its joys. You are creating another human after all and that’s amazing! But what if you don’t feel amazing? If you aren’t in love with being pregnant, you’re not alone. Not everyone gets to thrive while pregnant. Some women just have to survive pregnancy…and that’s okay.
If you are pregnant but not feeling that glow, you may be wondering what’s wrong with you. Nothing!
For some women, pregnancy comes with months of nausea, fatigue like you’ve never felt, insomnia, vomiting, cramps, swelling body parts, joint pain, anxiety, depression, and on and on it goes. Add on to that the feelings of guilt for not being ‘over the moon’ excited that you’re pregnant. For some women, pregnancy is just plain hard.
3 Tips to Help Survive Pregnancy
1. Sleep
Creating another life drains your energy. Once the baby comes, it’ll be even more difficult to rest. So, this is the time to do it. Go to be early, sleep in, carve out time on the weekend, take a nap, rest after work…wherever you can get sleep, get it.
2. Snack to Survive Pregnancy
If you’ve been nauseous, odds are you haven’t been eating a lot. And unfortunately, not eating can make you even more nauseous. Find what food doesn’t make you run to the toilet, and eat little bits at a time, and often. If you can stomach bread, take a few bites, and move on.
Your nausea won’t go away, but you may keep it at bay by snacking.
3. Ask and Accept Help
This may be the biggest challenge but also the best help for someone struggling. When we aren’t at our peak, we may feel like we are failing. But that just isn’t true. We don’t have to do it all. We don’t have to be superheroes.
If you are tired, ask for help. If you have a toddler but you can’t keep your eyes open, ask for help with childcare. Talk to your family, partner, friends. It’s okay to need help. Ask for help and accept help when it’s offered.
Yes, you’re still capable of making dinner and cleaning up the dishes, but why not ask for help and lie down, instead?
If you’ve spent the night in the bathroom, then ask for help in the morning so you can finally get some sleep.
Asking for help does not make you weak. Getting help doesn’t make you a failure. It means you’re human. And you’ll be better off for it in the long run.
Therapy for Women and New Moms in Washington, PA
Pregnancy is difficult for a lot of women. Many women, though, don’t want to admit they’re unhappy with their pregnancy. Sometimes they had been trying for years to get pregnant and they don’t feel they have the right to be unhappy. Some women feel guilt over feeling like they are barely surviving pregnancy knowing that their best friend/sister/co-worker just miscarried. How can you complain when you’re about to have a baby? Hint: You can!
You don’t need to feel guilt over your feelings. They’re your feelings. It’s okay. If you are struggling with pregnancy or motherhood, you’re not alone. Talking to someone helps. Therapy can help. Make time for you. You don’t have to feel guilt, shame or sadness. You can be happy again.
If you have any questions or would like to get to know me a little better, please call (724) 503-6670 or email me at admin@inthenowcounseling.org.
