Riding the emotional roller coaster is not always that fun
In general, I consider myself a pretty grounded person. Not too many tears, not too many outbursts. Level-headed. Logical. Then, when I got pregnant, I changed. All of sudden, while watching sappy TV commercials for laundry detergent or diapers, I began to cry! When my husband asked me what was for dinner, I glared and threw the bag of pasta at him! Some days I was exhausted, anxious or upset – often all three. It was like having PMS all the time. Ah, those darn pregnancy hormones!
Now, your emotions may not run so high when you’re pregnant, but be prepared if they do. Pregnancy, labour and birth – and motherhood for that matter – can be very scary. You don’t know what to expect, particularly if this is your first baby, and you may have lots of questions about what’s happening to your beautifully changing body and the baby growing inside you. And then baby comes, and you have loads of new questions to be answered. (Is my baby normal? His poop is mustard yellow! Relax. Yes. Baby is normal. Sigh of relief.)
Emotional and Postpartum Support
Having wonderful one-on-one support throughout your pregnancy, birth and postpartum can be very comforting and reassuring, particularly if you are on an emotional roller coaster. What does emotional support look like?
As birth doulas, the members of our doula team:
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- Listen to you in a non-judgmental way and acknowledge your feelings.
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- Remind you that you have a fabulous birthing team including your partner, your doula, and your health care providers.
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- Reaffirm that your body is able to give birth.
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- Whisper words of encouragement.
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- Help you with visualization techniques.
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- Help you process a traumatic event from your past which is affecting your pregnancy.
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- Hold your sacred birth space so that you may remain in your labouring bubble and not be bothered by what others are doing around you.
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- Help you have the most positive birth experience as possible.
As postpartum doulas, we:
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- Help you process your birth story.
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- Encourage your natural mothering instincts.
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- Listen and help you with various challenges you may be having, such as breastfeeding, lack of sleep, recovery from surgery, etc.
So if you’re pregnant and find yourself crying for no reason at all, don’t worry, it’s normal. At least for now you can blame it on the pregnancy roller coaster. Afterwards, it’s another ride altogether.
Sylvia
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