How Community Plays a Role in a Healthy Pregnancy |ADDICTED

Each woman experiences pregnancy differently. You can go through a range of positive and negative emotions: happy, excited, scared, overwhelmed, lonely, confused, optimistic, and open. Many navigate a combination of the above throughout their pregnancy journeys.

Unfortunately, many women have to work through the above and all else that comes with their pregnancies on their own. This isn’t to say these women don’t have healthy pregnancies. But there’s no denying the influence strong social support systems have during the ups and downs of pregnancy.

Guest post by Katie Brenneman

Let’s continue examining how a strong community and support system around an expecting mother can impact a healthy pregnancy.

A Solid Healthcare Team

The physical toll of pregnancy is tremendous. For example, the uterus grows and puts pressure on the bladder. The heart rate and breathing get faster. Rapid weight gain, mood swings, hormonal changes, tender breasts, increased blood volume. And this list just scratches the surface.

Don’t forget about the birthing experience, either. All these physical changes and giving birth, in general, can be taxing, let alone dangerous.

A solid healthcare team minimizes that danger. They’re there to keep pregnant women safe and healthy from the moment they find out they’re pregnant to birth and beyond. Having this in one’s support system is invaluable.

Mental Health Support

Pregnancy can be just as taxing on the mind as on the body. For example, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revealed that “1 in 8 women experience symptoms of postpartum depression.”

Postpartum depression is well-documented among mothers and can look like:

Persistent anger
Doubting yourself as a mother
Feeling like you want to harm yourself
Being overly anxious or nervous
Withdrawing from loved ones and life

In addition, The American Hospital Association disclosed that anxiety, perinatal and postpartum depression, and birth-related PTSD affect 1 in 5 women. It’s safe to say that women are at risk of mental health challenges when navigating pregnancy.

A supportive community that understands how to talk about mental health is integral to pregnant women feeling wholly supported.

A therapist, counselor, or spiritual guide, for example, has the compassion, empathy, education, and trustworthiness necessary for safe conversations around mental health to unfold. Pregnancy is much healthier when new parents have the space to be honest about their mental health struggles and lean on capable people to work through them.

An Emotional Outlet

If there’s one thing women can count on in their pregnancies, it’s an emotional rollercoaster. Hormones are constantly fluctuating. Mood swings are ever-apparent. And the feelings are flowing relentlessly.

Holding our emotions in isn’t necessarily the healthiest way to cope. In addition, keeping emotions in can be incredibly stressful. That stress doesn’t just affect the mother. It affects the baby too.

Pregnant women need emotional outlets, specifically supportive individuals in their communities that they can lean on. For example, they need people who sit and just cry with them. Crying can be good during pregnancy, as it helps relieve stress, renews emotions, and eases pain.

A support system allows mothers to let their emotions flow through their pregnancies. They don’t have to keep them bottled up, possibly negatively affecting themselves and their babies.

A Source of Resources and Advice

Of course, the pregnancy experience is unique to each woman. However, there are so many things they can relate to each other about, whether stretch marks, hair loss, weight gain, postpartum depression, losing friends, co-parenting, or being fearful of birth.

Those with other mothers by their sides during their pregnancies can attest to how beneficial and special these relationships are. Moms get it. They understand what a pregnant woman is going through and can genuinely empathize with them.

They can also be a great source of resources and advice for motherhood. For example, moms can give doctor, doula, midwife, and other healthcare professional recommendations. They can point you in the direction of great support groups. They can also share tips and tricks for navigating the complex parts of pregnancy.

Supportive moms are priceless during pregnancy.

A Sustainable Social Life

Often, pregnancy doesn’t permit a lively social life. From nausea and physical pain to not feeling up to getting dressed and interacting with people, socializing can take a backseat.

Despite having every right in the world to stay home and nest, pregnant women shouldn’t isolate. It can exacerbate mental health conditions. It can also result in a lonely, sedentary lifestyle. None of these situations support a healthy pregnancy.

Social support systems can help women sustain a social life during pregnancy. Even if it’s simply family and best friends coming over a few times a week to watch movies and eat dinner, that time with others can be uplifting.

A Village for the Baby

“It takes a village to raise a baby.” You’ve probably heard this time and time again. And it’s absolutely true. The more love and support a baby has in their life, the better. If this love and support can start when they’re in the womb, that’s even more promising.

When a woman surrounds herself with a community of people who love and support her child while she’s pregnant, she’s building her baby’s village. By the time the baby is born, they’ll already have the protection, joy, and strength around them they need to be healthy and thriving.

Conclusion

A loving community and intimate support system are integral to a healthy pregnancy. The physical, mental, and emotional support, as well as the surplus of resources and thriving social life, can be especially beneficial for pregnant women. Let’s hope each one gets to enjoy this.