Now for a topic that's untypical for frank. Pregnancy is part of life for many women sooner or later. During this time, hormones often go haywire, and you get thrown off balance more easily, are generally more sensitive and get stressed more quickly. But what does this stress do to you and to the unborn baby? We clear that up in this article.
How does too much stress show itself?
Stress is not just stress. The causes of stress are divided into objective stress factors, such as lack of sleep, hunger, noise, overload and underload, and subjective stressors such as anger, fear, pessimism and pressure. In a stress reaction, the following processes take place in the body: the stress hormones adrenaline and dopamine are released, heart rate rises, breathing and blood pressure increase and the muscles tense. In a stressful situation, digestion is also paused to prepare for the so-called "fight or flight mode". When subjectively felt stress drops, you often feel much more hungry than your body actually needs. In the long run, this risks excess weight, because a chronically stressed body demands more food energy than it needs.
What happens with too much stress in pregnancy?
The stress reaction just described works the same way in pregnant women as in non-pregnant women. In itself, mild, occasional stress in pregnancy is normal and usually harmless for the child. Stress can even be positive! For example your sweaty workout, a trip to the sauna or the excitement before a party. The same goes for your pregnancy: are you nervous before an appointment with the gynaecologist? Don't worry! Beyond that, though, there is also negative stress; if you are chronically stressed, it affects your whole body negatively. If you're also pregnant, it affects not only your own organism but also that of your unborn child.
If you have too much stress in pregnancy, see a doctor.
How does stress affect the unborn child?
If the mother's stress exceeds normal levels and the negative stress gets stronger and stronger, the unborn baby notices it too. You can imagine it like this: the mother's metabolism is always connected to that of the foetus in her belly. That's also the reason why you shouldn't drink alcohol in pregnancy! Your baby effectively "drinks" along. And it doesn't only work like that with alcohol: all nutrients and messenger substances such as neurotransmitters and hormones are partly passed from the mother to the baby. Another example: diabetes in pregnancy, also called gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). The disturbance in blood sugar metabolism during pregnancy can also affect the newborn negatively and is becoming more and more common in Germany. The offspring of mothers with gestational diabetes show similarities in metabolic parameters up to 8 years after birth. The children also have an increased risk of excess weight in childhood and adolescence.
Back to stress! Studies have shown that children develop faster under stress. That can mean the baby is born too heavy or too big, which can then lead to complications during delivery. Later in life, because of too many stress hormones as a newborn, the child may suffer from ADHD or cardiovascular disease.
Stress also affects the digestive process in people, and so in pregnant women too. This can mean the child isn't supplied with enough nutrients. And the little heart also pumps faster when the mother's heart is excited.
What can you do about stress in pregnancy?
Anyone who is too stressed in pregnancy can counteract it. That's good not only for the mother but also for the baby. So you should build in breaks every day where you simply sit or lie down and do nothing. Maybe put on some relaxing music or just write down your thoughts. A warm bath with a lavender scent often helps too, which is said to reduce stress. Gentle exercise like walking in the fresh air or swimming can also take your mind off things and calm you down. Besides writing down your thoughts, talking consciously about worries and fears that are on your mind can also be very liberating. If you set yourself too many tasks for the day, it can make sense to cut the list down a bit. Shopping and cooking can eat up a lot of time, and we speak from experience!
That's why, in stressful situations, we also like to reach for ready-made products that are as little processed as possible. Do you already know the soups from Frank Juice? Ordered online and delivered straight to your front door in eco-friendly packaging, you just have to heat them up in the microwave or in a pot before you can enjoy the soup. It fits into any wholesome, balanced diet and can be topped up as needed with protein powder, wholemeal croutons or vegetables as a topping.
It's all a question of how you handle it
Stress is a normal reaction of the body and can affect pregnant women just as much as non-pregnant women. You've learned that stress isn't only negative, but that there is positive stress, like sport. It challenges your body and leads to a higher metabolism: your breathing briefly speeds up and energy is mobilised in your muscles. What matters is just that the stress doesn't get out of hand and turn into chronic, health-damaging stress. If you look after yourself and try to find balance, you have nothing to fear. If you still have concerns and questions, you should turn to your trusted doctor to better assess the risks and discuss what to do next.
Now for a topic that's untypical for Frank. Pregnancy is part of life for many women sooner or later. During this time hormones often go haywire and you get thrown off balance more easily, are generally more sensitive and get stressed more quickly. But what does this stress do to you and to the unborn baby? We clear that up in this post.
How does too much stress show up?
Stress is not the same as stress. When it comes to the causes of stress, a distinction is made between objective stress factors, i.e. lack of sleep, hunger, noise, being overwhelmed or under-challenged, and subjective stressors such as annoyance, fear, pessimism and pressure. In a stress response in the body, the following processes take place: the stress hormones adrenaline and dopamine are released, the heart rate rises, breathing and blood pressure increase and the muscles tense. On top of that, digestion is paused in a stress situation to prepare for the so-called "fight or flight mode". When the subjectively felt stress drops, you often feel much more hungry than the body actually needs. In the long run this risks being overweight, because a chronically stressed body demands more food energy than it needs.
What happens with too much stress in pregnancy?
The stress response just described works exactly the same in pregnant women as in non-pregnant women. In itself, mild and occasional stress in pregnancy is normal and usually not dangerous for the child. Stress can even be positive! For example your sweaty workout, a trip to the sauna or the excitement before a party. The same goes for your pregnancy: are you nervous before an appointment with the gynaecologist? Don't worry! Beyond that, though, there is also negative stress; if you are chronically stressed, it has a negative effect on your whole body. If you are also pregnant, it affects not only your own organism but also that of your unborn child.
If you have too much stress in pregnancy, see a doctor.
How does stress affect the unborn child?
If the mother's stress exceeds normal levels and the negative stress gets stronger and stronger, the unborn baby notices it too. You can picture it like this: the mother's metabolism is always connected to that of the foetus in the womb. That is also the reason why you shouldn't drink alcohol in pregnancy! Your baby effectively "drinks" along. And it doesn't only work like that with alcohol: all nutrients and messenger substances such as neurotransmitters and hormones are partly passed from the mother to the baby. Next example: diabetes in pregnancy, also called gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). The disruption in blood sugar metabolism during pregnancy can also have a negative effect on the newborn and is becoming more and more common in Germany. The offspring of mothers with gestational diabetes show similarities in metabolic parameters up to 8 years after birth. On top of that, the children have an increased risk of being overweight in childhood and adolescence.
Back to stress! Studies have found that children develop faster under stress. This can mean the baby is born too heavy or too big, which can then lead to complications during delivery. Later in life, because of too many stress hormones as a newborn, the child may be more likely to suffer from ADHD or cardiovascular conditions.
Under stress, people's digestive process also suffers, and so does that of pregnant women. This can mean the child is not supplied with enough nutrients. And the little heart also pumps faster when the mother's heart is racing.
What can you do about stress in pregnancy?
If you are too stressed in pregnancy, you can counteract it. That is good not only for the mother but also for the baby. So you should build in breaks every day where you just sit or lie down and do nothing. Maybe put on relaxing music or simply write down your thoughts. A warm bath with lavender scent often helps too, which is said to reduce stress. Light exercise such as walking in the fresh air or swimming can also take your mind off things and calm you. Besides writing down your thoughts, talking consciously about the worries and fears that occupy you is also very liberating. If you set yourself too many tasks for the day, it can make sense to trim the list a little. Shopping and cooking can eat up a lot of time, we speak from experience!
That is why in stressful situations we also like to reach for ready-made products that are as little processed as possible. Do you know the soups from Frank Juice yet? Ordered online and delivered straight to your front door in environmentally friendly packaging, you only need to heat them up in the microwave or in a pot before you can enjoy the soup. It fits into any wholesome, balanced diet and can be topped up as needed with protein powder, wholemeal croutons or vegetables as a topping.
It's all a question of how you deal with it
Stress is a normal reaction of the body and can affect pregnant women just as much as non-pregnant women. You have learned that stress isn't only negative, there is also positive stress, like sport. It challenges your body and leads to an increased metabolism: your breathing briefly speeds up and energy is mobilised in your muscles. All that matters is that the stress doesn't get out of hand and turn into chronic stress that harms your health. Anyone who looks after themselves and tries to find a counterbalance has nothing to fear. If you still have concerns and questions, you should turn to your trusted doctor to better assess the risks and discuss the next steps.
