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4 tips from a midwife on how to reduce stress during pregnancy

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Photo: Getty Images
Photo: Getty Images
  • A midwife suggests that women should avoid the internet when seeking pregnancy advice. 
  • Hypnobirthing methods help the mother listen to her body and listen to the baby.
  • It's advised you stay away from birth horror stories while preganant.


The nine months of your pregnancy should be joyous as you create a bond with your little one before welcoming them onto this earth.

However, at times it can get a bit strenuous and overwhelming with stress looming and the pregnancy becoming more challenging. From baby shower preparations to pregnancy myths from loved ones and the internet, you can easily find yourself stressed and full of fear.

Here are five tips that will help you reduce the amount of stress during pregnancy as advised by a midwife from the TLC Homebirthing Centre:

1. Start preparing mentally for the baby 

Pregnancy comes with much planning and preparations. Unfortunately, throughout that process of planning for the baby’s birth we tend to neglect the mental preparation.

Mental preparation classes are important to help reduce your stress and to learn how to be the amazing mother that you intend to be.

“The main intervention is mental preparation,” the midwife from the TLC Homebirthing Centre says as she highlights how most mothers pay too much attention to medical intervention and tend to avoid their mental preparation.

Mothers should not limit themselves to the standard antenatal classes and should invest in mental preparation classes as well.

2. Avoid listening to pregnancy myths 

It is good to take some advice from your loved ones, especially if they have walked the journey of pregnancy before you. However, at times, they tend to share their horror pregnancy stories, which can bring unnecessary anxiety in your life. So, take note of who you listen to and what they have to share.

“They bring fear in a mother’s birth,” the midwife says and explains how mothers should avoid partaking in any negative stories related to pregnancy.

READ MORE Benefits of regular exercise during pregnancy include backache and swollen ankle relief

3. Avoid stories from the internet and television

“They Google everything, they must stop Googling,” she says. Mothers tend to bombard themselves with information from the internet and, at most times, it is highly exaggerated.

“Hollywood is the biggest liar, they make everything so dramatic. In real life, that is not birth.”

So, try to avoid consuming too much pregnancy related information from the internet, social media and television because it is not so realistic and you can experience a totally different journey of motherhood from what you see on these platforms.

4. Search for hypnobirthing methods instead

The midwife suggests that mothers should practice hypnobirthing methods such as meditation and control breathing. This will help them listen to their bodies and to listen to the baby, which is one way to mentally prepare for your journey of motherhood.

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