Undoubtedly, pregnancy is an amazing period in the life of a future mother. However, a stormy kaleidoscope of positive emotions closer to the crucial moment of the birth of a child is usually replaced by unreasonable experiences, which gradually overlap each other. How to overcome the fear of childbirth? Reviews of mothers who managed to remove prenatal nervousness and depressive states indicate the need to follow the useful advice of psychologists. We will consider the most effective solutions that contribute to creating a positive mood in our publication.
What causes fear?
Before telling how to overcome the fear of childbirth, I would like to say a few words about the factors that cause a feeling of heightened anxiety. Often, nervousness provokes the following points:
- Waiting for pain is probably the main experience that does not go out of the head in pregnant women in anticipation of an upcoming event. Indeed, the well-being at the time the baby was born cannot be called pleasant. Women often experience serious discomfort on a physical level. However, there are modern methods that can significantly reduce the intensity of pain. First of all, we are talking about the use of safe anesthesia.
- The probability of unforeseen "surprises" - a pregnant woman is tormented by doubts about the successful course of the maternity process. To cope with such anxiety, it is enough to pass all the necessary examinations in advance and take advantage of the professional advice of an experienced doctor.
- Fear of early onset of labor - according to statistics, this happens extremely rarely. Often, the appearance of the baby is preceded by a long period of fights, during which the expectant mother manages to mentally prepare for the process.
- Fears regarding the inability to cope with a responsible task - such fears are not justified by anything. Because during birth, natural instincts are launched to help reproduce the baby. To avoid such excitement, it is advisable to familiarize yourself with special benefits in advance.
Get rid of the "information noise"
If previously pregnant women had the opportunity to gather information about the birth process only from medical guides, now information from the global network is being added to everything else. There are a lot of articles available on the World Wide Web where stories are revealed regarding real unpleasant and tragic cases that occurred with pregnant women.
How to overcome the fear of the first birth? Psychologists recommend reading less materials from the Internet, which are served in a negative way. Otherwise, depressive states can even defeat a woman with a strong psyche. Avoid so-called information noise. Instead, it’s better to focus on the advice of a doctor, studying the official sources of data on medical topics. Shortly before giving birth, go to social networks less, do not read thematic blogs. Try not to participate in discussions of your own physiological and moral state on thematic forums. The advice and warnings of strangers who do not have special qualifications can only harm and cause additional concern.
It is better to pay attention to professional recommendations on how to overcome the fear of childbirth by talking with a psychologist and an obstetrician. Discuss anxiety with family members, feeling moral support from those who are really interested in a successful outcome of childbirth.
Find an effective way to relax
If you give birth tomorrow, how to overcome the fear of childbirth? Find an individual relaxation method in advance. Learn breathing techniques. Engage in meditation. Try to eliminate stress of various kinds in physical ways. Squeeze an object in your hand and evaluate how this decision helps to relieve feelings.
Speak your own feelings out loud. Some women are helped to relax during childbirth by playing individual sounds. Try not to scream to avoid extra effort. Better learn how to make a long yell that will help shift the focus from the impending suffering.
Perform massage treatments
For women who want to learn how to overcome the fear of childbirth, psychologists recommend betting on the periodic performance of a special massage. Contact a specialist who will teach you to reduce the level of nervous tension and pain by affecting certain points of the body. It is advisable to teach effective methods of relaxing massage to a husband or other close person who will provide support during the period before childbirth, and to be near immediately during the birth of the baby.
Keep active
How to overcome the fear of childbirth? It is not necessary at all to stay in bed shortly before an upcoming event. Walking, other moderate-intensity movements will help calm down and reduce discomfort. On the contrary, lying on the bed, turning away to face the wall, it is much more difficult to survive fights. Doctors often advise walking around the room shortly before delivery. Thus, the baby is easier to move in the right direction. Get out of bed in between contractions, and then return back to an upright position.
Sign up for preparatory courses
How to overcome the fear of childbirth? The method of consultation in special courses or in the maternity hospital is one of the most effective solutions for sedation. During such events, the expectant mother gets the opportunity to chat in a pleasant environment with women who already had such an experience. Registration for preparatory courses allows you to get valuable advice from qualified obstetrician-gynecologists and anesthetists, which will significantly reduce the level of anxiety. In addition, take classes for couples who are expecting a child. Under the guidance of a good psychologist, it is always easier to overcome growing fears and concerns.
Change your attitude to childbirth
Psychologists advise not to consider childbirth as forced suffering. Experts talk about the need to perceive the process like doing responsible work, the result of which is the achievement of well-being. Taking a serious position and developing confidence in one's own abilities makes it possible to eliminate fears, control the emotional state, and not make mistakes during preparation for labor.
Do business
Instead of tormenting the soul with fears and unnecessary experiences, devote your free time to arranging the children's room. Choose furniture, strollers and clothes for the baby. Do sewing or needlework. Do simple and fun work that brings pleasure and allows you to throw negative thoughts out of your head. If you feel good on a physical level, do regular walks in the fresh air in good company, visit interesting places.
Gather a bag with things that are required in the maternity hospital. Be sure to pay attention to this moment, so that then you do not have to be even more nervous while doing the task hastily. Find a car in advance and arrange with a driver who can leave for the place at the first call to be taken to the hospital at the time of the start of labor.
Adjust the actions of loved ones whose support will be important during childbirth. Solve in advance the issue of getting leave from work by relatives. Such employment makes it possible to get rid of unnecessary thoughts and eliminate growing fear, switching to really important points.
Rely on previous experience
Quite often, increased anxiety pesters women before the second birth. How to overcome fear in such a situation, if the previous pregnancy was difficult? First, agree in advance on the participation of qualified personnel in the process. Realize that next time everything should go more smoothly. Those who want to learn how to overcome the fear of a third birth, probably managed to notice how much easier it was to cope with the task a second time.
If the previous experience turned out to be exciting and painful, even eradicate negative thinking. Focus on the course of contractions, the normal frequency of which indicates a stable state. Catch yourself on the fact that the result of the upcoming pain, in contrast to various kinds of injuries, will be another miracle.
Still how to overcome the fear of childbirth? If you have a sad experience communicating with negatively minded midwives, it is better to use the services of another maternity hospital. There is always the opportunity to find a disinterested and polite doctor who is really interested in providing qualified care.