Feeling stressed during pregnancy?
We all know that stress is not good for the baby. Here’s what you can do about it!
If you’ve experienced overwhelm in the past, make sure that birth will not overwhelm you. Difficult situations in your life, like major life events, stress at work or at home have made you more receptive to stress. Time to break the cycle before your birth!
Quiz: How do you respond to stress?
I know from personal experience that birth can bring up all kinds of emotions. Learn what you can do to deal better with the whirlwind of emotions around birth.
The Biology of Stress: Understanding Your Nervous System for Birth
Our bodies react to stress. Shoulders become tense, heart rate goes up. Learn how the “Science of Safety” can help you navigate birth with more ease.
Free 30 min Birth Prep, incl. 3 practical tips to release tension
This session gives you space to share what’s on your mind, express any concerns, and receive insights that can help you feel more at ease – inside and out.
When “Just Relax” Feels Impossible
You’ve probably heard this from your midwife, your partner or other well-meaning friends, care providers or even colleagues: Don’t worry! Just relax! Stress is bad for your baby.
Hey, if it was only that easy! If you have previously gone through difficult periods in your life, this has an imprint on who you are. Your body and your mind are more receptive to stress because it feels familiar. i know this is an unpopular opinion but very important to realize! You’re not a bad mother (to be) if you’re not relaxed. You have just a lot on your plate.
You’re not broken, and you’re not failing.
If stress has been your default for years, it’s no surprise it shows up now—especially in pregnancy. You might find yourself:
- Struggling to sleep through the night because you’re ruminating and worrying about the future?
- Secretly sometimes regretting this pregnancy because everything hurts?
- Looking in the mirror and not recognizing your own body?
- Feeling lonely in this country although you have a loving partner and great friends?
- Trying really hard to enjoy this pregnancy despite your fears and anxiety – with limited success?
- Unsure if you are ready to become a mother?
- Afraid that positive affirmations are not enough right now?
Your nervous system goes into fight or flight.
Your emotions are natural and deserve acknowledgment. If you ignore or suppress these emotions, they will only get worse. You might get more anxious, your body might get more tensed. You might even feel disconnected from yourself, from your baby, and from your partner. It seems as if the external world, even your friends, your family and care providers are all ‘against’ you. Your nervous system becomes wired to fight or flight. Eventually you might become fearful of the day your baby will be born.
More relaxation for you = more relaxation for your baby
Do you wish you could just flip the switch and get rid of the stress? Are you longing to feel confident and easy? Imagine you can learn how to shift from the ‘fight or flight’ mode into ‘rest and digest’ and look forward to your birth. This also benefits your baby! Feeling more connected with your body and the world around you will release your happy hormones, which are directly affecting your baby. It’s a win/win situation: more relaxation for you equals more relaxation for your baby.
Learn how your body and mind are connected. A more regulated nervous system will lead to more comfort now and more ease during birth. How would it be to feel overall more resilient so that you can better deal with anything unexpected? After all, birth and parenthood can be a wild ride. More often than not, things don’t go as planned. Feeling connected with your body, your baby, and the people around you will increase the trust in your body and in your ability to give birth.
Why Marlene?
Marlene is an accredited somatic massage therapist specialized in shame and guilt. Her fascination about the relationship between body and mind have brought her on this path. She is an expert in pregnancy, birth and (early) parenthood through years of experience as a birth doula, childbirth educator and Spinning Babies® Certified Parent Educator, a physiological approach to childbirth. As a member of VBAG, RBCZ and NbvD, she adheres to high quality standards and continuous education requirements. Depending on the additional package of your health insurance, her sessions might (partially) reimbursed. Originally from Germany, she gave birth to her two children in The Netherlands as an expat (a hospital birth and a homebirth). She experienced first-hand how it feels to navigate this system as a foreigner.
What others have said
Empowering Mothers, Not Just Births
Birth is not only about making babies. Birth is about making mothers – strong, competent, capable
mothers who trust themselves and know their inner strength.
-Barbara Katz Rothman-