How To Get Peace of Mind During Pregnancy

While the stereotype of a mom-to-be is someone with a glow and a serene Mona Lisa smile, some women have one dominant emotion: terror. Taking care of another person is an enormous responsibility, and it’s hard to avoid worrying about what could go wrong. Take a deep breath and try some of these tips for how to get peace of mind during pregnancy.

Express Yourself

Everything you’re feeling is valid, and every pregnant woman has probably felt the same way. You don’t have to present yourself as positive every moment. You don’t have to keep your anxiety to yourself. Acknowledge your thoughts and feelings, then let go of them. It can help to verbalize your emotions, so think about:

• Calling an old friend
• Joining an online community for moms or moms-to-be
• Scheduling some therapy appointments
• Spending time with your own mother
• Recording your thoughts in a journal
• Making a video or writing a letter to your baby

Just because you want to share your feelings, that doesn’t necessarily mean you want advice. If all you want to do is vent, let the other person know that the best thing they can do for you is just listen.

Take a Babymoon

You don’t have to take a trip with your partner to reap the benefits of a babymoon. The idea is that it’s a one-more-time, just-the-two-of-us celebration of your couple-hood. You can plan a date night, put away your phones for a few hours, or take a drive to visit your favorite places together. You might be feeling a slight sense of hysteria in finishing all your “to-do” lists before your due date. But things will be even busier after the baby arrives, and you’ll both be sleep-deprived. Take the time to reconnect. You’re in this together.

Plan Ahead

You’ve probably put together a birth plan for your delivery day. Take a little time with your partner to talk about how you’ll deal with things if they don’t go according to plan. You might be able to take a tour of the delivery suite ahead of time or take an online tour. Make decisions about things like whether you’ll be storing the cord blood, something that your doctor has to know about ahead of time. But this is just the beginning. During pregnancy, you can also get some peace of mind by looking beyond the big day. Have you started a college savings fund? Written a will? Thought about the most important values you want to teach them? Don’t waste this time worrying. Relax and focus on your pregnancy—the future will be here soon enough.