Pregnancy can be both a wondrous and stressful time in a woman’s life. Even from pre-conception emotions can waiver from one extreme to the next when thinking about pregnancy or becoming pregnant. Whether the pregnancy is planned or not, adds yet another level of complex emotions to the mix as well. For those who were intentionally seeking conception, the moment of discovery leads to feelings of elation and almost euphoria. Without conscious permission, these feelings can turn to concern, fear and stress over having a healthy pregnancy, a complication-free labor and delivery and what is actually entailed in raising a child or children.
The OB/GYN office staff sets this whirlwind of emotions into full tilt with the monthly appointments to monitor fetal growth and maternal health, the constant tests and questions; all the while missing one key aspect: the emotional health of the mother. It is not unknown that the emotions that the mother feels – so does the baby. Yet, many women are expected to continue working right up until delivery and some carry on the responsibilities of life single-handedly. This is an area where prenatal and post-natal education is lacking and where Mind-Body Medicine would suit well to be “prescribed.”
Stress is an ugly 6-letter word in the life of a pregnant woman. Based on the current literature, stress can lead to an increased risk of complications and increased stillbirth rate, fetal growth retardation and fetal asphyxia in utero.5 The psychological health of the mother is equally important as the physical health. Those thoughts and emotions register on a deeper level than just the “mind” of the mother. There is still a great deal that we do not have a full understanding of when it comes to the interconnectedness of mother to fetus, but we do know that stress reduction is essential for both the health of the baby and the mother.
Yoga, hypnosis, aromatherapy, biofeedback and other Mind-Body modalities have all had some level of success in helping the mother release some of the stress from preconception to postnatal. The most effective of the list is yoga, with multiple studies utilizing different styles of yoga during different stages of pregnancy. The most significant reduction of stress from yoga appears to come from the second trimester, but more if the yoga training was started early in the pregnancy.1 Yoga demonstrated the ability to improve birth weight, decrease preterm labor, and decrease complications during labor and delivery.6 High-risk pregnancies may also benefit from yoga since it has shown hypertensive- reducing abilities.4 Massage and aromatherapy can both help during labor and delivery and hopefully reduce or eliminate the use of anaesthetics2 and lavender essential oil shows some potential in the treatment of pain for those women who had a cesarean.3
Addressing the stress levels during pregnancy is important and should be considered a routine part of pre- and postnatal care. Mind-Body Medicine shows promise in this area and can assist the mother to deliver a healthy and well-developed baby – which is what any parent really wants in the long run.
Beddoe, A. E., Paul Yang, C. P., Kennedy, H. P., Weiss, S. J., & Lee, K. A. (2009). The Effects of Mindfulness‐Based Yoga During Pregnancy on Maternal Psychological and Physical Distress. Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, & Neonatal Nursing, 38(3), 310-319.
Dhany, A. L., Mitchell, T., & Foy, C. (2012). Aromatherapy and Massage Intrapartum Service Impact on Use of Analgesia and Anesthesia in Women in Labor: A Retrospective Case Note Analysis. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 18(10), 932-938.
Hadi, N., & Hanid, A. A. (2011). Lavender essence for post-cesarean pain. Pakistan Journal of Biological Sciences, 14(11), 664.
Rakhshani, A., Nagarathna, R., Mhaskar, R., Mhaskar, A., Thomas, A., & Gunasheela, S. (2012). The effects of yoga in prevention of pregnancy complications in high-risk pregnancies: A randomized controlled trial. Preventive Medicine.
Relier, J. P. (2001). Influence of maternal stress on fetal behavior and brain development. Biology of the Neonate, 79(3), 168-171.
Shamanthakamani Narendran, Raghuram Nagarathna, Vivek Narendran, Sulochana Gunasheela, and Hongasandra Rama Rao Nagendra. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. April 2005, 11(2): 237-244. doi:10.1089/acm.2005.11.237.
