For how much I'm supportive of motivational messages and maintaining hope, there is a downside to messages that we say far too often to women going through a high-risk pregnancy.
The result is that far too many women end up minimizing their experiences and their emotions during their high-risk pregnancy and avoid talking about the realities of what they're going through and how hard it really is.
The problem with that is, on the days you feel like your world is crumbling around you, and you're exhausted and frustrated and overwhelmed, you feel like you're the only one that's going through it. Then, you start to internalize this as a problem with you wondering why you can't get through this.
For as long as we avoid acknowleding how hard a high-risk prengancy is, it leaves you feeling completely alone.
For women going through a high-risk pregnancy who are already at risk of experiencing antepartum and postpartum depression, this is NOT ok and we have to stop this cycle.
On this episode we talk about the realities and the importance of acknowledging those realities to help you cope and have a healthy pregnancy when you're facing pregnancy complications.
Episode highlights...
Most high-risk women don't realize how bad the situation is until after it's all over because they are inundated with messages of minimizing their experience throughout their pregnancy
The worst advice women with high-risk women hear that they should never listen to or believe or tell themselves
How so many women end up cutting off their emotions during their pregnancy because it's so scary and how that impacts their pregnancy health because it builds stress in your body
How to balance motivation and hope with accepting the reality of the challenges you're going through
It needs to be ok for you to sit back somedays and say to yourself, "Yes, this is really hard"
The impact on your health and pregnancy when you put boundaries on your emotions: "You cannot experience joy without experiencing sadness" ~ Inside Out
Let yourself fall down to help yourself get back up and keep going
Release the blame you're holding onto and let yourself accept the realities of what's going on
Going through a high-risk pregnancy and having pregnancy complications really is as hard as you feel it is That says nothing about you.
Resources from the show...
Free webinar to help you overcome fear & anxiety and stay pregnant as long as possible (Join now)
Research, tips and advice on how to effectively manage stress during a high-risk pregnancy (Get Pregnancy Brain now)
Tweetables
What you're going through right now, really is this hard and it says NOTHING about you. (Tweet that!)
There's a huge problem with telling yourself to "be more positive" during your high-risk pregnancy (Tweet that!)
To improve your situation you have to first acknowledge how bad it really is (Tweet that!)
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