Staying Positive During Early Pregnancy: 7 Tips
Many women find the first trimester the most challenging: You’re just learning how to adapt to pregnancy and the side effects can take a large toll. On top of that, most miscarriages occur in the first trimester and the anxiety is building up.
If you’ve experienced a miscarriage in the past, staying positive during early pregnancy can be especially difficult — but not impossible!
In this guide, we will teach you how to stay positive in early pregnancy using 7 tips.
Be Aware of Your Thoughts
To become or stay positive during early pregnancy, you will need to start becoming conscious of your thoughts. Have you ever told your mind that it can’t think any negative thoughts? If you have, it most likely didn’t work. Having negative thoughts is normal to an extent — it’s how we view those negative thoughts that determines how much they impact our mood and life.
Throughout your day, pause and ask yourself what your thoughts are. Are you viewing pregnancy as positive or negative? The more you identify your thoughts, the easier monitoring them will become. When you realize you’re having a negative thought or worry, instead of instantly trying to banish it, ask yourself a few quick questions:
- Is this a useful thought?
- Is this thought true?
- What is the reality surrounding the thought?
Next, realize your thoughts are just thoughts. They’re not reality and they don’t need to have any emotions attached to them.
For example:
- Original thought— “Now that I’ve told everyone I’m pregnant, I might have a miscarriage and then I’ll need to retell everyone and I’ll be devastated.”
- New thought— “I am having a thought that I am worried about miscarriage. It makes sense why many pregnant women would worry about this: We don’t want anything to happen to our babies. But the reality is that the further I am along my pregnancy, the less likely I am to have a miscarriage.”
Another technique for minimizing negative thoughts is to become aware of them and let them drift by without becoming attached to them.
Count Your Blessings
A quick way to get yourself into a positive mood is to make a gratitude list. Take out a journal or piece of paper and write down everything going well in your life. Here are a few examples:
- I’m thankful that my body allowed me to conceive a baby
- I’m thankful my baby is healthy
- I’m thankful I have a great healthcare team to guide me through this pregnancy
- I’m thankful that my baby will have a great father
Whenever you’re feeling down about pregnancy side effects, forcing yourself to list the positives will put you into a better mindset.
Create a Support Network
Another key to staying positive during early pregnancy is to create a supportive network including your family, friends and partner. Having people to share your worries and concerns with can make you feel a little less alone. When you’re in a negative mood, they can help provide perspective and reassurance.
Choosing a healthcare team you trust and are confident in will also boost your positivity. If you’ve never felt 100% comfortable with your family doctor, consider searching for a new one. Spend time researching a physician, midwife or doula who makes you feel uplifted.
If you’re the only woman pregnant in your circle, it may be worth meeting other expecting women so you can interact with people going through similar things. You can meet people by joining a pregnancy education class, such as a birthing or pregnancy yoga class. Another option is to join online forums and communities.
Take Action
Sometimes the best way to feel positive is to be prepared. When we are stressed or feeling negative towards something, taking action can help improve the situation.
For example:
- If you’re feeling negative about your parenting abilities, spend some time reading about how to take care of a newborn. Whether it’s reading books or magazines, taking an online course, or taking an in-person class, being prepared will help you feel more confident and positive.
- If you constantly have negative thoughts about your baby’s health or miscarriage, consider purchasing a fetal doppler. When you hear your baby’s heartbeat, you’ll feel better knowing that he or she is okay.
- If you’re worried about getting morning sickness in a public place, carry around some “vomit bags” whenever you leave the house.
When you’ve done everything you can to minimize the chances of a negative situation, your negative thoughts should subside.
Meditate
Sitting and doing nothing can play a large role in helping you become more positive about your pregnancy. Numerous studies have shown that meditation can help ease anxiety and stress. What’s more is that meditating during pregnancy also has a positive effect on newborn health and temperament, according to a 2014 study. With these benefits, it’s worth at least giving it a try.
If you’ve never meditated before, you may find it difficult to sit silently with your own thoughts. It may be hard to “clear” your mind now, but in time, you’ll have it mastered. There are several different types of meditations you can try to see which one works best for you:
Affirmations
Positive affirmations don’t work for everyone, but there’s a possibility it could transform the way you think! Affirmations are encouraging phrases that you say out loud or in your head. The idea is that these supporting phrases will slowly train your mind to think more positive thoughts.
Follow these steps to practice affirmations:
- What are your negative thoughts during or about pregnancy? Example: “I’m worried I’ll have a miscarriage” or “I don’t look like myself now that I’m pregnant.”
- Use your negative thought to create a positive affirmation. Example: “My body is doing its job by keeping me and my baby in perfect health” or “I cherish my pregnancy body and I’m grateful it’s allowing me to carry this beautiful baby.”
- Repeat this affirmation. You can say it out loud in the mirror for a few minutes a few times each day. Another option is to write the phrase several times in a journal. If you’re in public and need a boost, even repeating the affirmation in your head can help. Some people write the positive message on a sticky note and place it on their fridge or bathroom mirror.
Pregnancy Affirmation Ideas
- I am already a great mother.
- I know how to care for my baby in the best way.
- My baby is beautiful and healthy.
- My body has everything it needs to deliver a healthy and beautiful baby.
- I love my baby belly and I love how my body changes to create a safe space for my baby.
- The changes occurring in my body are a sign that my baby is developing perfectly.
- I trust that my body is in optimal condition for labor.
- I am delivering a baby that is happy and perfect in health.
- My health habits are creating a wonderful place for my baby to live for 9 months.
- I love my healthcare team and how they support me every step of the way.
- My partner is very supportive throughout my pregnancy.
- My partner is already a loving father.
Live in the Moment
Most of the time when we’re worrying, we’re stressing out about situations in the future that haven’t even happened yet. The list of negative thoughts and worries you could have about your pregnancy, labor and baby are endless. What if I need a C-section? What if morning sickness strikes in a public place? What if my baby has a birth defect?
The reality is that you can’t control every aspect of your pregnancy and you don’t know the future. Instead of worrying, do your best to control what you can. For what you can’t control, live in the moment and vow to tackle any issue as it arises.
For example, taking prenatal vitamins and kicking bad habits will decrease the chances of your baby having a birth defect. However, since it’s not 100% preventable, you may still have negative, worrying thoughts about his or her health. Get rid of those negative thoughts by living in the moment. Your baby is healthy now, so there’s nothing more you can do. But if your baby has a birth defect when you deliver, you will do everything you can to improve his or her health. It’s important to realize that right now, there’s nothing you can do but worry — and worrying doesn’t improve anything.
How do you stay positive during early pregnancy? Comment your tips and ideas below! Share this article with pregnant friends so you can help them banish negativity, too!
P.S. Using one simple device can instantly make your pregnancy more positive. The fetal doppler allows you to hear your baby’s heartbeat, ridding you of worries and negative thoughts about his or her health.
Resources:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/shyness-is-nice/201305/stop-fighting-your-negative-thoughts
https://psychcentral.com/lib/depression-and-letting-go-of-negative-thoughts/
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-wise-open-mind/201108/5-steps-make-affirmations-work-you
https://www.meditationoasis.com/how-to-meditate/simple-meditations/walking-meditation/
http://selfhelprobot.com/how-to-do-mantra-meditation-technique-at-home
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0163638314000733