How to Deal with Stress During Pregnancy That Can Affect the Fetus

It cannot be denied if stress can affect a person's health condition. Stress can be caused by many factors, ranging from the environment, body or even mind itself.

If in a person stress tends to attack physical, mental, and emotional conditions only, while the stress experienced by pregnant women can also affect the growth and development of the fetus.

Stress, anxiety, and depression during pregnancy can cause developmental disorders in major brain regions before the baby is born. In addition, the condition of stress in pregnancy also triggers the baby to suffer from congenital heart disease and others.

If you are in pregnancy, it is important to pay attention to health conditions so as to avoid stress that can harm the baby in the womb.

So, here Popmama.com give some causes, impacts to watch out for, and ways to prevent stress in pregnant women summarized from various sources: 1. Causes of stress during pregnancy

Before knowing the impact and how to cope with stress, you need to know some causes that may be triggers for stress.

However, usually stress arises due to you thinking too much about something or excessive fear about pregnancy, such as fear of miscarriage, fear of childbirth, fear of caring for the baby, to mood swings due to feeling depressed.

In addition to factors from within, you can also experience stress from the influence of the outside environment. For example, financial or work pressures, the influence of a spouse or immediate family.

If some of these things are experienced simultaneously, the possibility of mama experiencing stress will be at greater risk.

This condition of stress during pregnancy can be recognized by a variety of signs, ranging from headaches, sleep problems, faster changes in breath and pulse, and significant emotional changes. Stress causes fetal brain development

Stress in pregnancy can affect fetal brain development. In this case, for example, the left hippocampus in the brain becomes smaller, the left cerebellar lobe in the brain is also prone to stunted growth.

The hippocampus is key to memory and learning, while the cerebellum controls motor coordination and plays a role in social and behavioral development.

This hippocampus becomes a structure in the brain that is very sensitive to stress so prone to disruption of growth.

In addition, the baby's immune system and emotional can also be affected if you experience stress during pregnancy. Children may be body with excessive feelings of anxiety and difficulty focusing.

Editors' Picks3. Cause congenital heart disease

A study shows that 65% of the 48 pregnant women who experience stress can cause heart disease in babies born. This study was conducted using validated screening tools so that the results can be accounted for.

Children of mothers who experience stress during pregnancy are also susceptible to asthma and allergies during childhood, as well as higher hospitalizations for infectious diseases such as respiratory illness and gastroenteritis.

In addition, pregnant women who are stressed can also interfere with the flow of nutrients so that the fetus can be hampered by its intake.

Changes in emotions or organs triggered by stress are also dangerous for the continuity of fetal development in the womb. Preterm birth with a low baby weight

Ongoing stress in pregnancy can alter the body's management system causing an overreaction resulting in inflammation. Inflammation is associated with pregnancy health conditions.

High stress levels in pregnant women can trigger an earlier birth with a low baby weight.

This can happen because stress can cause short-term spikes in blood pressure so there is a considerable risk of early birth.

Premature babies are likely to experience developmental delays and learning disorders. When adults later, children will be susceptible to chronic health problems, such as heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes. Triggers preeclampsia

Stress becomes one of the triggers for blood pressure spikes. The effect of blood pressure is the cause of the emergence of preeclampsia. This is because of emotional changes so that you tend to be sensitive and irritable and blood pressure increases.

Preeclampsia is characterized by high blood pressure, elevated levels of protein in the urine, and swelling of the legs (edema).

While the easily recognized signs of preeclampsia are the appearance of swelling in the legs and hands, abdominal pain, severe headaches, nausea and vomiting, and blurred vision.

Also read: Must know! These 5 Signs of Preeclampsia That Pregnant Women Often Miss

Preeclampsia tends to occur in pregnant women, especially if you are pregnant for the first time.

Preeclampsia can cause the placenta not to get enough blood flow that should be distributed to the fetus. This can trigger various problems in the growth and development of the fetus. Stress causes miscarriage

Quoted from the Healthline page, there is a study that found that women who are exposed to stress during pregnancy are twice as likely to have a miscarriage.

The study also found a link between workplace stress and miscarriage. If you are a career woman and are pregnant, you should adjust the workload to the current condition of pregnancy so that you can avoid stress.

This is because stress triggers the brain to release several hormones, one of which is a hormone called Corticotropin Releasing Hormone (CRH).

CRH is a hormone released by the brain in reaction to physical and emotional stress, and is also produced in the placenta and uterus of pregnant women, triggering contractions. High CRH levels are also one of the triggers for miscarriage7. How to reduce stress during pregnancy

There are several ways you can do to cope with stress during pregnancy. For example, in the following way:

• Invite the closest or trusted people to share their stories,
• doing meditation activities so that you get a calm atmosphere and avoid negative thoughts,
• Do activities that mama likes.
• Mama also needs to pay attention to the intake of nutrients that enter the body. Make sure the food and drink consumed contain balanced nutrition.
• Drink plenty of water and don't consume too much sugar.

If you feel the stress is severe enough and difficult to overcome, you can consult a doctor for further help. Try to have positive thoughts and activities in order to avoid stress yes, Ma.

Read also:

• Pregnant Women's Stress Management, Check Out These 5 Tips
• Stress and Complications During Pregnancy Cause Schizophrenia in Children?
• Pregnant women should know! 11 Signs of Fetal Stress