Pregnancy Nerves

At Bay City Doulas, we talk to dozens of expecting families weekly. It’s one of our favorite parts of our job! We have the privilege to speak with and work with so many people from different backgrounds, trying to figure out what will work best for their families. While every family is different, we hear a few of the same things from most families we work with, one of those being, ” we are nervous about having this baby!” Today we are here to talk all about pregnancy nerves. Enjoy!

It’s normal to be nervous before a significant life event

Do you remember the day before your first year of college or right before a first date that you were excited about? Typically before a big life event, we have a plethora of feelings. One of those is typically being nervous. Nervous for the what-ifs. ” What if they don’t like me? ” ” What if I’m not smart enough for this college?” These are just a few examples of ” what ifs” that may run through our heads. While these may be silly examples, they fit perfectly with how many families feel before welcoming a new child home.

We’ll let you in on a little secret

We will let you in on a little secret; we are nervous before welcoming a new addition too. That’s right, your trusted doulas who have all of the information, are experts in infant care, and love babies and postpartum are nervous too. The same feelings of ” what if” pop into our heads too.

Let’s talk about it

Unfortunately, these nervous feelings typically come with a sense of guilt. This is typical because the tense parts of pregnancy are not shared. There are many things that we see in pregnancy and postpartum that are not widely talked about. That means that when the hard stuff or uncomfortable things come up, we are often left feeling all alone in our emotions and like we are the unusual ones for being nervous or having a hard time.

Calming pregnancy nerves

At this point in this week’s blog, our goal is that you may feel a sense of relief, that yes, being nervous about your little addition is normal! Let’s talk about ways to calm your nerves about your new baby. Here are some suggestions.

Call a trusted friend- Talking about these feelings typically help. We recommend calling a trusted friend and sharing your feelings with them. You may be surprised to hear they felt the same way before their little one came too!

Take some time to do something nice for yourself – Does going on a walk help to calm you down? Or possibly getting a massage? Now is a great time to give yourself some TLC and self-care.

Call Bay City Doulas- That’s right, call us! Even if you are covered for postpartum support, we love talking to expecting parents and are happy to jump on the phone and talk through any feelings that may arise during your pregnancy.

Try a meditation app- Deep breathing and meditation are proven to calm nerves and ease anxiety. In this day and age, a meditation or breathing exercise is one download away. You may try practicing a daily breathing exercise or meditation to see how it works. One of our favorite apps is calm.

Remember, you aren’t alone- We all have our own experiences and feelings, which makes each of us unique, but we are also similar! When feeling nervous, try and remember that you aren’t alone, and be nice to yourself!

We have many different goals at Bay City Doulas, and aside from providing top-of-the-line postpartum care, talking about the complex and uncomfortable things is one of those goals.

Thank you for reading this weeks blog, ” pregnancy nerves.” For more helpful tips on all things pregnancy, postpartum, and parenthood click here.