Sine and Symptoms Adjusting to Pregnancy
Written on January 1, 2008 by steven
Pregnancy After Miscarriage
A miscarriage, still birth, or even a termination in the past can affect how you both feel about your current pregnancy.
Rekindling grief
Even if your earlier pregnancy or pregnancies were some time ago, being pregnant again may rekindle your grief. Talk things over with your partner or a close friend.
Reliving the past
If you had a miscarriage, you’ll both find it difficult to be relaxed about the new pregnancy. Take heart from the fact that most women who miscarry go on to have a healthy child the next time.
After a termination
If you had a termination due to abnormality, you’re likely to be offered diagnostic tests in this pregnancy as soon as practically possible. Again, take heart from the fact that many such problems are extremely unlikely to recur. If your termination was for other reasons, you may suffer feelings of guilt that you’re going ahead with this pregnancy. It’s important to talk about this rather than bottling up feelings that may affect your relationship with your new baby.
After a still birth
If you had a still birth, you’ll probably be wondering whether or not this baby is alive and find the end of your new pregnancy almost unbearable, Although you’ll be monitored carefully, talk to your health care provider you may be able to have the baby some days or even weeks before the due date.
Becoming a parent is one of the most profound experiences you’ll ever have. It’s an essentially positive and deeply satisfying experience but you’re going to find it disruptive, exhausting, and incredibly hard work, too.
Thinking Ahead
Your pregnancy is a time to ponder the changes ahead for each of you as individuals and for you as a couple. In many ways it’s impossible to describe exactly what’s ahead in pregnancy until you’re there, but it’s certainly true that you can be as prepared as it’s possible to be by asking questions, reading, and talking to friends who’ve already gone through it.
Your Differing Reactions
Men and women respond differently to the news of pregnancy, elation may fade in to fear, anxiety, or depression at the thought of the responsibilities looming, and the changes that are unavoidable. Changes in relationships can be threatening at the best of times. Those that rake place in early pregnancy are particularly taxing because they have to be played out when the mother is feeling tired and possibly anxious, and the father may be feeling ambivalent about the new situation. Use the months ahead to prepare, as much as possible, for what’s in store, but try to enjoy your pregnancy, too. Life will, after all, never be the same again. If you can, go away for a weekend or take a vacation when you’re between four and seven months pregnant it will give you time and space to share your feelings together.
Feelings About Pregnancy
At first, the physical changes common to most pregnant women may color your view of the pregnancy. Many women find that the physical discomforts of the first three months tiredness, nausea tender breasts begin almost as soon as the pregnancy has been confirmed, some times within a few days of missing a period. This can take couples by surprise, turning initial delight in to apprehension and uncertainty. However, this reaction is usually temporary, lasting about 12 weeks, after this, you’ll suddenly realize that you’re not waking up with nausea and a fuzzy head, that you’re full of energy, and that in stead of just looking thicker around the waist, you’re developing a recognizable bump that announces your pregnancy to thc world, and of which you can be proud.
Planned Or Unplanned
Whether the pregnancy was planned or not has a bearing on your attitude to it. An unplanned pregnancy may be welcomed by one partner more than the other (and this is often the father rather than the mother), or both of you could be ambivalent about it, especially if you have financial worries. Whether your pregnancy is planned or unplanned, there may well be implications for your career, especially if you work for a company that doesn’t have a sympathetic attitude to parenthood. This is more important for working women than men, but experience shows that it is possible to resume a career even when you’ve had a long break for birth and childcare. Once you know you’re pregnant, talk to your employer about the options as soon as possible to find out what maternity leave is available. This will help to allay any fears you have about your career prospects.
If Your Pregnancy Was Assisted
Your attitude to your pregnancy is bound to be attested if you’ve had to wait a long time to conceive, and perhaps had treatment to assist conception. You’ll feel an enormous sense of relief that your longed for baby is at last on the way, but may worry about doing anything that may lead to miscarriage, so there may be a tendency to treat the pregnancy like an illness. Try to avoid this most specialists in assisted conception will hand their patients over for routine maternity care once the pregnancy is established if anything is going to go wrong, it is most likely to happen in the first eight to ten weeks, and you’ll have been warned about this. Even if you’ve had to endure quite lengthy and invasive treatments to achieve the pregnancy, try not to dwell on them, instead, look for ward to the birth of your healthy baby.
Spreading The News
You might want to tell every one right away that you’re having a baby, on the other hand, you might want to hug your secret to your self for a while. You may surprise your self at how it comes out, depending on who you’re telling, because many people find admitting they are about to become parents to a third party seems to make it real for the first time. The support of friends and family can help to over come any feelings of doubt; alternatively, you may find your self confessing to your closest friend your ambivalence to the whole thing, even though on the surface you appear to be delighted. Bear in mind that in the event of a miscarriage, the more people you’ve told, the more distressing it may be for you if you have to explain that you’ve lost the baby.
Pre-Birth Bonding
Although it’s wonderful to be able to see your baby moving when you have your first scan, most women feel that the bonding process really begins once they feel it. Though this may not happen until about 20 weeks in a first pregnancy, it’s an advantage you have which your partner lacks so share your feelings as much as possible and encourage him to feel your tummy. First sensations of movement often coincide with a change in energy levels, so you’ll probably be feeling better about your self and the baby than you ever thought possible to start with.
Father
The physical changes of pregnancy can affect how your partner feels about it. Preparing for this should help you deal with any low moments she may have.
Your partner’s feelings
Exhaustion is common in early pregnancy it’s probably caused by all the hormones the body suddenly has to deal with. Encourage your partner to take things easy, and look forward to the middle months when she’ll probably feel incredibly energetic and wide awake. The bloom of pregnancy at this time will make your partner look wonderful so make sure you tell her.
- The effect of pregnancy hormones combined with the whole idea of becoming a parent could make her much more emotional than usual. Be supportive and sympathetic.
- She may worry about the fact that she’ll inevitably be gaining weight. Don’t draw attention to this. Be positive about how she looks and compliment her. It’s a very bad idea to diet in pregnancy, but she doesn’t need to eat for two, either. Encourage her with the fact that most of the fat gained in pregnancy is stored to nourish breastfeeding, and is burned off remarkably quickly once she starts feeding.
- Your partner may feel that she’s lost control of her life because there’s always some one else with ideas on what’s best for her, Don’t add to this she knows her body best, and when it comes to decisions, she has the last word.
Tags:Baby Care, feelings pregancy, pre birth bonding, pregnancy Preparing Parenthood If you enjoyed this post Subscribe to our feed
