Feeling anxious about your pregnancy? Learn more about the top pregnancy fears
From the moment you find out you’re pregnant, your head starts buzzing with all sorts of ideas and thoughts you may not have expected.
You’re more than likely to even start worrying about things such as exercising while pregnant, the first trimester screening and other scary fears you’ve either heard about in the media or from friends and family.
Top pregnancy worries and the truth
Here are a list of the top pregnancy fears women have and the truths behind them:
Eating something that can harm the baby is one of the biggest fears pregnant women have. Throughout your pregnancy you’re encouraged to avoid natural cheeses, shellfish and certain types of seafood and caffeine, so women become concerned that they’ll accidentally eat something not knowing that one of the off-limits foods was in it. It can become fairly easy to start to obsess over what you can and can’t eat, but as long as you’re maintaining a balanced and healthy diet and only consuming items such as caffeine in moderation, you’ll be OK.
Delivering a baby with a birth defect is a top fear that pregnant women have. There are so many things that could go wrong during the nine months your baby is growing, but the likelihood of your little one actually having a defect is pretty low. You’ll test for major abnormalities such as Down syndrome and Trisomy 18 during your first trimester screening, but the best way you can protect your baby is to ensure that your prenatal vitamins or the foods you’re eating contain plenty of folic acid.
Miscarriages are a top worry by moms-to-be. The truth is it’s highly unlikely, as most pregnancies result in healthy babies. Most miscarriages also occur during the first few weeks of pregnancy before you even know you’re expecting, so you likely wouldn’t know even if it happened. When your doctor sees a heartbeat at between 6 and 8 weeks, your risk of suffering a miscarriage drops to 5 percent.
Some women worry that their baby isn’t getting enough to eat during the first few months of pregnancy when the chances of having morning sickness are the highest. This is when you should be sure that you’re taking your prenatal vitamins, just in case your nausea and sickness cause you to become ill enough that you can’t keep anything down but crackers and juice.
Preterm labor is a big one for women, however many don’t realize that a baby born between 34 and 36 weeks is far enough along that there is a lower risk of serious complications and developmental issues. If you want to reduce your risk of delivering early. make sure you don’t smoke or drink alcohol, have regular prenatal checkups and take your prenatal vitamins every day.
If you’re a stomach sleeper, you may worry about lying on your belly and smashing the baby. Women often say that they’re afraid they would roll onto their stomach in their sleep and crush the baby, causing them to lose a lot of sleep at a time when they need it the most. While this seems like a rational fear, there’s really nothing to worry about because your body can make room for the baby.
Keep in mind, however, that the bigger you get the less comfortable sleeping on your stomach for long periods of time will become. You’re more than likely going to end up not wanting to sleep belly-down before you would be able to injury your baby.
Among top pregnancy worries is a soon-to-be mom’s water breaking in public or even peeing her pants while out and about. The thing that they don’t tell you is that when your water breaks – if it even does – it’s nothing like what happens in the movies. Some women compare their water breaking to a trickle, while others say it was more of a gush. You’ll also likely have some warning signs, such as contractions, before you water breaks, so you won’t be caught off guard by the unexpected.
There is one thing that you can probably expect to happen throughout your pregnancy – peeing your pants. While this seems like a fear right now, by the time it happens you’ll be so used to people poking around at your private parts that you will probably end up laughing at yourself. Also, if you do pee your pants, it’ll be more of a dribble than a complete pants-soaking situation.
Stress is emphasized as something you should avoid at all costs during your pregnancy, but with so many hormones and changes going on inside your body and in your life, it’s nearly inevitable that stress will creep up on you at some point. As long as you aren’t overly stressed, it will only have a minimal impact on the baby. For those who tend to get worked up, know this about yourself and find ways to help you de-stress after a long day.
What are some of your top worries about pregnancy? Share in the comments below!