A growing belly by the end of the second trimester might make you wonder why it’s taking too long and when will all this come to an end finally. The wait might seem to be too long. But you can make the most of time at hand. Your week-by-week pregnancy guides and regular visits to the hospital or medical centre for pre-natal tests and sonography in your arms may keep you abreast of what is going on inside of you. A whole new being is taking form inside of you and you can’t wait to hold him/her in your arms and bring him/her home. The seemingly long wait can be made easier if you try bonding with your unborn baby from the early stage of his formation.

There are certain ways you can spend quality time with your unborn baby:

• Most mothers journal to keep record of their various experiences during pregnancies and save them as keepsakes for their children to read later in life. Form the very first butterfly feeling in the tummy to the most latest of kicks, from the first throw-up to the never ending flatulence, they write it all. They keep all the record and the ultrasound images of the baby and preserve them in various manners.
• Many expectant mothers usually sing and caress their tummy. By the end of the third month of pregnancy a baby can hear you. Babies can get a sense of music during early developmental stages. He/she can figure out the tones of the parents’ voice especially the mothers’. They can begin to learn language in the womb and so you can order your lifestyle in such a way that he/she tries to pick the language the way you want. Caressing can give a sense of reassurance and security to the baby. It arouses a sense of protection and a feeling that he/she is loves and cared for. A baby can make out a fathers’ touch from a mothers’.
• Meditation can help too in a spiritual way. You may try singing hymns to your babies. It is researched that babies respond to familiar sounds, rhymes and songs. Yoga can release that extra added due to a hectic working routine around the house or at your work place or due to some unforeseen event in the family. Try to keep your cam in every way possible. Relax your mind off all the worries and stresses. After all there is another life inside of you that is soon to come into this world. Try massaging your feet with oil and avoid sauna.
• Eat healthy and consciously ……. You may have heard it often that a pregnant woman should have a hearty meal and have snacks in-between meals too because she is eating for two. Bearing kids is no easy a job. Most pregnant women don’t eat much in case they gain which they know is an odd deal to shed-off later. But, eating healthy for two can save you all the trouble. Try making smart choices. Take lean meat and get that extra fat chopped off while shopping for meat. Avoid too much red meat, eat lentils and eggs instead. Fresh leafy green vegetables are a good choice because they contain enough vitamin C fiber and water content recommended during pregnancy. Avoid alcohol and drugs during all times through pregnancies. You don’t want to risk your pregnancy with complications. Most of the birth defects are due to careless intake of unnecessary medication which is not prescribed by a physician.
• Try making your partner getting to draw close to the baby because he might be hesitating to get near you fearing he might be hesitating to get near you fearing he might harm the baby. Let him feel the baby also, taking out sounds and caressing all the while. Baby tends to know that the touch is different from the mothers’ and get to know daddy gradually. His bonding with the baby is equally necessary. Carrying baby to term is every mother’s dream for the survival and health of a developing fetus.

Some women can become intensely fearful of their approaching delivery day, this could be because of what their mothers have been telling them about childbirth and the attitude of mothers surely affects their daughter’s feelings towards delivery.

Usually, its normal to feel a little anxious and apprehensive towards the end of the pregnancy, but intense fear can actually affect labor, women suffering from this kind of fear may actually increase their risk of negative experiences during labor. They are at an increased risk of having an emergency C-section or vaginal delivery involving vacuums or other instruments.

A woman must always remember that her birthing experience has no relationship with her mothers experience and that she does not have to relive her mother’s experience, if her mother had said to her “I almost died when you were born”, it does not mean she will also have that kind of labor. If a woman’s own birth had been difficult it can have an effect on her sub conscious, she should find out more about her own childbirth, and then only will she discover where her actual fear lies. Once she knows where her fear lies, she will be able to tackle and overcome it.

Women should research their birthing options, they must discuss all their concerns with their doctor during pre-natal visits and clarify all the doubts in their minds, they should learn about intravenous sedation and regional anesthesia options. They can find out about epidural which is a low risk procedure and can actually shorten the time of active labor.

It is also useful for them to look into psychosocial support systems, such as attending childbirth classes. It is important for a prospective mother to choose avenues that empowers her rather than making her more afraid. It is important that her doctor recognizes her problem of fearfulness and is sympathetic towards her and is able to be comforting and informative and non-fear promoting.

It has been discovered that women who are relaxed and free of fear were free of pain, during labor. Fear is one of the strongest emotions we know, when we feel fearful, messages are sent to receptors all over the body creating exaggerated reactions. These amplified messages set off biochemical and physiological changes within the body. The body is being prepared for a fight or flight experience and when fight or flight is not appropriate, as with a woman during labor, the hormones like adrenaline and nor adrenaline that are being secreted constrict the uterus and reduce it’s blood supply. In such a situation the body’s natural relaxants known as endorphins and pain killers cannot work effectively because adrenaline and nor adrenaline are present in the body in excessive amounts, so when fear is predominant during labor a woman cannot benefit the effect of natural analgesics.

The problem is that fear has 9 months to build, and we know how this fear can exist. Horror stories from our own mothers and others reinforce this fear. Women who have gone through childbirth do nothing to help expectant mothers, instead they promote the idea that it is the most painful experience and the power of suggestion whether it is true or exaggerated is very powerful and what we expect is so often what we get, fear builds tension and anxiety, tension and anxiety causes pain.

Most expectant mothers find it hard to relax. The busy schedules, routine work, running chores around the house and stress at workplace can leave you quite frazzles especially when you’re pregnant. A pregnant woman needs time to relax her mind off all worries. The reality of being pregnant itself is something that makes women worrisome and they dwell on every single thing that they might have done that could harm the baby.

Other stressors include conflicts with partners, deadlines that have to be met at work and being stuck in a traffic jam during rush hour. Though stress can actually be good for your immune response as it prepares for any potential risk or possible accident, infection or injury but stressing out on every little thing can wear you down

Pregnant women should try to take as little stress as can be and rejuvenate and revitalize themselves to ensure their own and the baby’s health. Stress promotes high blood pressure and pregnant women having it are apt to have babies with increased heart rates. Research is also being conducted to investigate the link between stress and premature births.

There are a few stress reducing techniques that slow down the body and relax the mind. These include:

• Guided Imagery
• Yoga
• Meditation
• Breathing Exercises
• Progressive Muscle Imagery

These establish mind-body connection and you can have a quieter and deeper insight on the events going on in life and things that are beyond your control.

You can release stress by adopting little habits and practices that can be a great help even when you’re not pregnant and particularly during pregnancy. Retreat to a quiet room and lay down comfortably. Close your eyes and take deep breaths in and out. Start with 10 breaths and count backwards from 10 to 1. You can also take mindful walks by walking at slower than normal pace. Feel the aroma and sensations around you. Your body will react to it, calming your senses and centering you in the moment. Stress reducing exercises can help you to shift from shallow chest breathing to deep abdominal breathing.

These reduce your heart rate and blood pressure and help the body to recover the anxiety response. Sometimes stress level ratchets up a notch. During pregnancy you might be anxious about your baby’s health, the delivery marathon and motherhood. It is but normal for a pregnant woman to get an anxiety attack at some point. Obviously, a whole new being is forming inside of her and soon she’s going to give birth. Transcendental meditation requires you to sit in an upright position and adopt an unreceptive attitude and chant a simple word over and over for 15 to 20 minutes. Such meditation can reduce blood pressure. Massage and external stimulation are effective techniques to relax too. Avoid sauna at all times during pregnancy. The body temperature rises so high in saunas that it can directly harm the baby. Music can be relaxing especially when sound waves of different frequencies are used to obtain slower breathing rates. This technique of releasing stress is called music therapy.

Gone are the days when you had to chase around your children making sure they don’t cause too much trouble. Vacations at times get stressful when you don’t have much to keep your children busy, but when vacations is over, it is time you should give yourself a break. Stress is normal for pregnant mothers because stuff about her baby’s health, tests results, scans and preparing for the birth itself is a great transition period. Even though you may have gone through the whole life-changing experience, pregnancy definitely demands a lot of your attention.

What you can do to feel better?

Whenever you feel tired or stressed then there are some common practices that you should follow all the time so you can think of other things. If you will give time to your unborn baby, your baby will thank you!

• Take lots of rest

Now that you can take out time for yourself, what you need the most is some rest. Your body can take care of all the delicate areas when you stay relaxed. If there is any need for nutrition, you will know very well when to fetch for food. Cut down on house chores and ask your children to help out, and they will eagerly take good responsibility when you will appreciate them. Only come out of the bed for priority work and a change of mood.

• Talk to people

Share your feelings with other pregnant women you know among your extended family or your neighborhood. Some heart-to-heart conversation really helps!

• Look out for complimentary assistance

There are some good community based services that are only aimed towards the comfort of expectant mothers. Pay them a visit and you will already save a lot of your shopping. These places are always very welcoming and have a lot of sincere people who want to make your life more comfortable.

• Spend some time with your unborn baby

Does this sound surprising? But it is true! You can spend the best quality time you need with your husband by seeing your unborn baby live. Unfortunately, clinics are far too busy to allow you to observe your baby for leisure. Every expectant mother wishes to know more about her unborn child and bond with her baby as much as possible. Consider visiting an ultrasound clinic that has a studio for very small groups. Their systems are far better than any other ultrasound you will see in a clinic because they are designed to give you the best visual appearance of what is happening inside your womb. The best part is that they know exactly how much you will enjoy this important moment, so you can spend as much time you need. Their packages will allow you to thoroughly enjoy this moment and get to know your baby already.

We live in a society where there are countless sources of news and information coming our way all the time. And while it happens, there is a lot of wrong information or in most cases, misinformation that surfaces our minds.

One such concept, that is often treated as right is of morning sickness in women. Morning sickness is said to occur in more than 80% of pregnant women and is considered quite normal now. If you try exploring the reason why morning sickness happens, there is no particular reason as specified by medical experts too. Some experts and professionals believe that it is one of those natural ways that our bodies learn, to cope with any bad effects on the young one. Through morning sickness, it is believed that the body keeps the mother to-be away from consuming foods that may prove to be harmful or injurious to the unborn baby and to keep the body safe so there are almost zero chances of miscarriages or loss of baby. There is not much problem or disagreement till here.

The main problem comes when people start associating morning sickness with hormonal changes in the body. When a baby is developing inside the womb of a mother, there are massive changes that are happening inside and there are many hormonal changes and imbalances that happen too. In reality however, morning sickness has nothing to do with hormonal changes or imbalances. It is in fact the result of bad eating habits that one may be into.

Although there are few tips which can help you overcome morning sickness and for you to be more productive and active while having it in morning too, which will be discussed shortly, one very important aspect is to stay away from smoking, consuming alcohol or eating too much meat! By making these small changes in your diet and your eating habits, you can really reduce the effect of morning sickness to a great extent.

Now the question that arises is: what should you do when you are experiencing it?

First thing to do is to change your diet from oily, spicy and heavy to light and preferably bland food. Try consuming more vegetables and fruits. When you want to have sandwiches, have cold and very mild flavored one. Prefer cold and healthy sandwiches which use minimum amounts of spices.

The next thing to do is to always have some light snacks around you. Carry popsicles, candies, and healthy snacks such as light sandwiches or whole wheat biscuits etc. The idea behind it is that you should not let yourself stay hungry for long at all. While you do so, also bear in mind not to overeat or stuff yourself too much with excessive snacks. You need to have a very frequent food but that too which does not put strain on your digestion system or body by any means.

Lastly, give yourself good amount of time to get off the bed when it happens. Do not hasten if you do not feel like getting up. Have books, snacks, music collection around you so till the time you get up, you can keep yourself busy and entertained also.

So you see getting over morning sickness is not at all that difficult. You need to clear your mind that hormonal changes cause it. Its natural and it withers away with some effort also.