The article discusses the reasons and mechanism for the development of fears during pregnancy, their main types. Ways to overcome anxiety. Fears in pregnant women are the expectation of life-threatening or conditionally dangerous phenomena, sensations in relation to the child (fetus) or the expectant mother, accompanied by a high level of anxiety and psycho-emotional instability, due to hormonal changes in the woman's body. Let's find out what fears pregnant women have and how to deal with them.
The mechanism of development of fears in a pregnant woman
Fears in pregnant women are of a different nature, some of them are completely harmless to the mental and physical health of the expectant mother and her baby, others pose a significant threat to the development and life of the fetus, entail serious personality disorders up to phobias and depression.
Nature has laid down a special role for women - motherhood, which is the basis for procreation. Therefore, the expectant mother is worried about and without during pregnancy.
A human genetic feature is caring for offspring, like all mammals, a number of fears in a pregnant woman are associated with this feature:
- The health of the baby in the womb;
- The resources of your body for realizing the role of a mother (the ability to bear and give birth to a baby);
- Heredity (genetic diseases, predispositions);
- The ability of the family to raise and provide the child with everything necessary.
These fears are nothing more than a product of the subconscious, and in moments of mental instability caused by hormonal changes during pregnancy, they make themselves felt in the most unpredictable way. The general level of anxiety of the pregnant woman increases, there may be sleep disturbances, appetite is lost, up to refusal of food. In this case, the concept of fear is a collection of uncertain disturbing events that surround a woman, including changes in herself.
Anxiety while carrying a child is quite common, but you need to be careful to notice in time the negative impact of fears on the life of a pregnant woman. Often, over-anxiety is a factor in high blood pressure, unexpected bleeding, and even in the most severe cases, the cause of abortion or missed pregnancy.
The mechanism for the development of fears in a pregnant woman schematically looks like this:
- The appearance of an unusual and previously unknown state, sensation, thoughts. For example, pulling pain in the lower abdomen during pregnancy speaks of different factors of its occurrence. When a woman is unable to independently determine this cause, the fear of the unknown appears.
- Reinforcement of the cognitive component with knowledge about similar phenomena. The pregnant woman remembers what she was told by her friends, relatives and other women who were involved in motherhood. A game of consciousness begins on the theme "What do I know about this?"
- Illegal inference. Usually, the expectant mother ties her feelings about motherhood to her knowledge, which is often negatively colored emotionally.
- The development of anxiety and fear proper.
For a constructive struggle with fears in a pregnant woman in the early stages and before childbirth, it is necessary to change the constituent elements at the second and third levels in the mechanism of fear formation, which will lead to the elimination of anxiety and a successful fight against obsessive anxiety of pregnant women.
Important! If you notice a loss of appetite or sleep, feeling unwell against a background of increased anxiety and fear for the baby, immediately contact your doctor so that he can make appropriate appointments for you, maybe even refer you to a psychologist. Being afraid for any reason during pregnancy is the norm, the main thing is to keep your anxiety level under control so as not to harm yourself and your baby! Calm, only calm!
The main causes of fear during pregnancy
Fears are a manifestation of the individual's self-preservation instinct, which is present at an unconscious level in the subconscious. Most often, the reasons for the emergence of fears do not lie on the surface, but are hidden in the depths of the human soul. Therefore, only a specialist in the field of psychology can determine the true essence of their occurrence using a number of methods: projective techniques (drawing fear), verbal trainings (pronouncing fear), psychoanalysis (finding out the root cause of fear) or psychotherapy (art therapy, gestalt therapy).
As with any mental phenomenon, fears should have their own reasons:
- The unknown and the unknown frightens … Anxiety, accompanying a person at different stages of his life, helps to activate the body's defenses, thus avoiding danger. Constant fear helps a pregnant woman to notice changes in her body in time, which can signal a threat to the fetus. But sometimes it happens that this interferes with normal life, so it is worth consulting with others and a doctor so as not to get bogged down in these phobias.
- Change of the familiar and ordinary … Naturally, with the birth of a child, a woman's life becomes different - work is replaced by home, any activities and hobbies are replaced by caring for the baby, which takes up all her free time. The change in the usual way of life also scares the expectant mother.
- Overwork, physical exhaustion … Pregnancy is hard work for the body, which uses all its resources.
- A new degree of responsibility … Against the background of constant overwork and exhaustion, a feeling of anxiety arises due to the heightened responsibilities and affairs. Mom is afraid that she will not cope with the new role and responsibility for the life and health of the little person.
- Negative experiences of others … Fear is also formed on the basis of stories that haunt a pregnant woman in everyday life: stories of mothers, grandmothers, friends about motherhood as something unbearable and terrible.
Signs of fear in a pregnant woman
Any mental state has its own external and internal symptoms that characterize it as a process in the dynamics of development. External signs of the presence of fears in a pregnant woman before childbirth and in the early stages include:
- Pallor of the skin;
- High blood pressure, heart palpitations;
- Excessive distraction and inability to focus on a specific activity;
- Constant conversations about a disturbing event (communicative factor);
- Limb tremor;
- A significant increase in the eye pupil;
- Muscle spasms that accompany thoughts of fear;
- Changing the sound of a voice (timbre);
- Dry mouth;
- Nausea, vomiting.
External manifestations can be noticeable to any person who observes a pregnant woman, but only their combination and a detailed anamnesis of data can indicate the presence of fear.
Internal signs are based on the analysis of neural connections and structural features of the central nervous system.
Varieties of fears during pregnancy
There are many types of phobias, here are some of the most pressing fears for pregnant women:
- Fear of death … The difficulty and responsibility in carrying and giving birth to a child gives rise to thoughts that a woman is losing health and vitality, which may not be enough during childbirth. In this regard, the fear of death arises. He accompanies a person at all stages of his life and is a guarantee of its preservation, that is, to be afraid of death is quite natural. But, mixing with a cocktail of hormones that activate the body's resources and affect the brain and central nervous system, as well as the psyche of the individual, a “nuclear explosion” is obtained, which an emotionally unstable woman cannot cope with.
- Fear for the life and health of loved ones … The child makes adjustments to the everyday life of people, therefore, pregnant women are often afraid that the appearance of a baby may negatively affect loved ones with whom they will not be able to communicate and see as before.
- Fear of the future … The birth of a child is a new stage in life that entails changes, and what was planned may not come true or come true wrong.
- Fear for the health and development of the child (fetus) … This is the fear of an ectopic or frozen pregnancy, fear of fetal pathologies, stillbirth or injury to the child during childbirth. The health of the baby and its preservation is one of the most important concerns during pregnancy, since it is not always possible to personally influence something. An ectopic or frozen pregnancy can only be determined by a doctor, and the pregnant woman will not be able to influence it - the process is irreversible. It is also impossible to feel the pathology of development, as well as to feel the birth of a dead child before it leaves the birth canal. It will not be possible to predict the behavior of a doctor who can accidentally injure a newborn, or completely control his behavior. A pregnant woman is dependent on environmental factors: doctor, ecology, unforeseen incidents, etc.
- Fear of pain … The most powerful and all-encompassing fear that haunts a woman throughout her pregnancy. She begins to fear suffering from the stories of acquaintances who have already given birth, or from her own knowledge. The pain is not the same, so the uncertainty of your future feelings is frightening.
- Fear of childbirth … Most often it manifests itself sharply closer to the time of delivery and covers the woman completely. To avoid or minimize it, pregnant women attend specialized courses where they learn how to behave during childbirth, pain relief techniques, and communication skills with newborns.
- Fear of an unplanned pregnancy … It can be present in women of any age and any financial situation. Most often it is formed under the influence of surrounding factors: the opinions of a partner (spouse), relatives or loved ones, a lack of material resources (in the opinion of the girl herself or her environment), an imaginary inability to cope with a child. This fear can be minimized by having the necessary knowledge on the prevention of unplanned pregnancy and methods of contraception, as well as information about motherhood as an excellent destination for the weaker sex.
- Fear of your own unattractiveness due to pregnancy and childbirth … It arises from the negative experience of others and obsessive Internet stories. In the fight against it, the support of the spouse and family will help, as well as knowledge about ways to restore the body and figure after childbirth. The right focus on motherhood can help you avoid unnecessary fears.
The famous psychiatrist G. I. Kaplan divided fears into two types: constructive and pathological. The constructive instinct is based on self-preservation. These are such fears that will help the expectant mother to always be on the alert, not to miss dangerous sensations or changes in herself or the baby, and to react to the situation in time.
Pathological or destructive anxiety underlies obsessive states - phobias, they lead to mental disorders of the personality, as well as to such severe forms of it as depression. Having identified such fears, the intervention of a competent specialist is often required - a psychologist, psychotherapist, psychoanalyst or psychiatrist.
Pathological fears during pregnancy are especially dangerous, since they affect the mental health of not only the woman herself, but also the formation of the child's psyche.
How to deal with pregnancy fears
It is normal to be afraid during pregnancy, but only if the fears do not threaten the baby's health and the mother's mental health. Constructive fears can be overcome by expanding the area of their knowledge about pregnancy and the peculiarities of its course, as well as after talking with a doctor.
Algorithm for getting rid of fears in a pregnant woman
To combat destructive obsessive states, the following algorithm is used.
Mechanism for dealing with pathological fears:
- Determination of the cause of fear (according to the pregnant woman);
- Identification of the destructive component at the cognitive level (thoughts that caused fear);
- Determination of the nature of fear (negative previous experience, stories of others, Internet information, etc.);
- Development of a scheme of actions to combat fear - certain actions, drug treatment, psychological support for a pregnant woman;
- Control throughout the entire path to overcome fear by a competent person (obstetrician-gynecologist, psychologist, psychotherapist and other specialists);
- Analysis of the results obtained.
This is a general framework that can be applied in any approach to dealing with fears.
Art therapy in the fight against fears in a pregnant woman
It is known that visualizing fear is 50% of success in fighting it. Having portrayed her phobia, the woman relieves the psychophysiological stress of the whole body, transferring it to paper. A feature of this direction is a specific psychological mechanism - creative activity in which a pregnant woman manifests herself as a person in all the many-sidedness of connections and structures.
There are a number of exercises that can be performed as part of art therapy:
- "This is my fear!" The subject is asked to depict the fear in free form and describe it in detail in all details. This is how the awareness and elaboration of anxiety states, their verbalization, which forces the pregnant woman to pronounce the strategy of behavior in an alarming situation, takes place.
- "Actions with fear" … The subjects depict fear, as in the previous task, but instead of describing, they must figure out what to do with this image: crush, throw out, tear, wet, etc. By such actions, there is a struggle on a subconscious level. The subconscious mind remembers the behavior algorithm when this phobia occurs, the reaction to it will be different, softer than before.
- "Fairy thread" … A ball of thread is taken, and the presenter begins the narration, for example: “Once upon a time there was a girl named Lucy, and she was so afraid of giving birth that …”, ends the phrase and passes the ball to the next one in a circle, which continues this story. So the tangle is transmitted in a circle to all members of the group until the fear ceases to be frightening.
Art therapy is applied both individually and in a group approach. Taking into account the specifics of the pregnancy period and female psychology in general, group sessions will be more constructive and emotionally positive for a pregnant woman, in which a woman can feel not alone in her fears, understand what all pregnant women are going through, thus, it will be easier for her to cope with her phobias …
Gestalt therapy to overcome fears during pregnancy
The main concept in this psychological direction is gestalt. This is a kind of image that haunts a person. The main task of the Gestalt therapeutic school of psychology is to close this obsessive negative image, that is, to overcome your fear.
Exercises for pregnant women in the framework of gestalt therapy:
- Perception of phobias as a holistic process, independent of the will of a person … The subjects replace the phrase "I am afraid …" with "There is a certain fear in me …" As a result, the ratio of the concepts "figure-background" turns the initial chain of fear into "There is fear in me, the reasons for which are incomprehensible to me and do not depend on me …" On the plane, the personality goes through a series of transformations that lead to insight (illumination). The reunification of internal and external feelings, the realization that fear does not depend on a person and is an integral process, makes you change life priorities and correctly place accents.
- "Self-flagellation" … It is the reunion of the opposites of the personality. The subjects compare their fear and courage in the “here and now” situation. A dialogue is built, during which the integration of fear as an emotional and sensory experience into the space surrounding the individual takes place. The main task of the exercise is unity with oneself, full awareness of fear.
Note! The fulfillment of psychological tasks will bring results only if they are carried out under the guidance of a psychologist or psychotherapist! Only a competent specialist will be able to correctly build a lesson and consolidate the result. What are fears during pregnancy and how to deal with them - watch the video:
The main thing in overcoming fear is to remember that all this is for the sake of the child's mental and physical health, and then success will not keep itself waiting long!
