Help!
The Internet is Giving Me Pregnancy Anxiety!
|by Lauren Zerweck
Raise your hand if you’ve ever googled your
way into an obsessive parenting frenzy.
Whether it’s a strange pain during pregnancy
or baby’s first fever, today you can access a million answers in mere moments. Some of the
answers you find will put your mind instantly
at ease. Others might just have you rushing to
the ER with your newly acquired fear of flaky
red blotches.
While it is common to worry, especially while
pregnant, one might wonder if moms worry
more today than they did before the rise of the
Internet. Today’s connected landscape provides
an endless stream of unthinkables. Navigating
through the slew of information, opinions, and
advertising can be a real challenge.
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So what’s an expectant mama to do when one
of her main sources of information may send
her down a rabbit hole of surprising fears and
unrealistic ideals? Read on for stress-reducing
methods for new mothers.
Stressing About Stress
High amounts of stress can be damaging to
new mothers, mentally and emotionally, especially during pregnancy. Doctors tell expecting mothers all the time to relax and manage
their stress, but many do not realize the stress
they take on when roaming cyberspace. Some
women may even find themselves reading an
article on the adverse effects of stress on an
unborn baby and suddenly become stressed
out about stressing out. This is truly a vicious
cycle, and one that requires consciously safeguarding oneself as they peruse the web.
Dr. Hobel is an obstetrician that has studied
the effects of stress in pregnant mothers and
the baby. He shares that one of the most notable factors in managing stress for pregnant
women is their support network and providing
enough information about prenatal care and
the pregnancy itself to ward off worries.