A doctor’s appointment can bring up tremendous anxiety for moms who are experiencing pregnancy complications.
You may find that this anxiety spikes when you're in the waiting room at your doctor's office.
Sitting the familiar chairs, watching the clock tick as you wait to be called back inside.
Not knowing how your baby is or what news you'll get in just a matter of minutes can leave you feeling quite tense.
The waiting room in their perinatologist's office may bring up painful memories of hearing difficult news in the past, causing you to feel a wave of intense emotions as you brace yourself for potentially another blow.
It's important to stay calm in the waiting room for two reasons.
The first reason is to ensure that you get accurate vitals when you're called back.
Feeling anxious will raise your blood pressure. Whether you are already facing blood pressure problems during your pregnancy or not, staying calm and getting an accurate read on your blood pressure can allow your doctor to have a good idea of what is going on during your pregnancy and advise with an appropriate treatment plan accordingly. (Tweet that!)
Side note, if you find your blood pressure is always on the high end at the beginning of the appointment, you can always ask your nurse or doctor to take it in the middle or the end of the appointment for a more accurate reading.
Secondly, you're anxious you are less likely to remember everything the doctor is telling you.
Our brains work in such a way that it's nearly impossible to retain factual information while we're feeling anxious or afraid. (Tweet that!)
If your doctor is explaining any changes to your pregnancy, a new medication or is advising on an altered treatment plan, it's important that you are fully present and able to hear everything your physician is sharing with you.
This can impair your ability to remember all of the questions you wanted to ask, leaving you feeling even more anxious after the visit is complete.
The only solution you may think of is then to turn to Dr. Google and search for incomplete information, potentially scaring yourself about a complication that doesn't actually apply to your situation.
It also goes without saying that stress generally is troublesome for your mind and body especially if you already have a high-risk pregnancy. So anything you can do to relieve those spikes of anxiety will benefit you and your baby greatly.
How to stay calm in the waiting room
Most likely your jitteriness, inability to focus on the magazine in front of you and your racing thoughts all center around two words: "What if..."
Your anxiety is related to not knowing what's going to happen and wishing you could have a crystal ball so you could brace yourself for what's to come.
Unfortunately, you cannot predict every possible thing your doctor will say or what will happen once you're inside.
So instead of focusing on the future and what you can't predict or the past and all of the times you've come into this visit and had unpleasant experiences, use your time in the waiting room to practice being in the moment.
You may not be able to control what happens during your pregnancy but you can control how you cope with it. (Tweet that!)
Here's how you to stay focused on the present while you wait to be called in:
Take deep breaths and focus on your breath.
Make a list in your mind of all of the sounds you hear.
Close your eyes and notice what your baby is doing in your belly or how it feels to sit in the chair.
Try to find all of the colors of the rainbow in the room you're sitting in as many times as you can.
When you feel your mind wandering to the past or the future, acknowledge that it's happening and then bring your attention back to the present moment.
The wait can be excruciating. But simple steps like these can make a profound impact on your health and your baby's health during your complicated pregnancy.
Your Turn!
Does the waiting room give you anxiety? How do you stay calm while you wait for your name to be called?
Leave a comment below. I would love to hear from you!