Stress/Anxiety during Pregnancy

[lauraloo09]

Hiya just looking for some advice.

I am currently 25 weeks pregnant with DC2 and it hasnt been the best pregnancy, was diagnosed with SPD at 22 weeks and been on crutches since then. Work situation isnt great too, albeit im not on my feet all day but im still in agony with constantly sitting. My stress/anxiety levels in work are not great either, im an office manager within a social work admin office and staff are getting cut/sickness and not getting replaced and we are still expected to keep the same service level which is extremely difficult. On Monday when I got out my car I felt that someone had stolen my breath IYKWIM i couldnt take another step towards the office was difficult to get the strength to get to the office. It was the same yesterday and today.

My concerns are that at night time once I have chilled out from work bubs goes absolutely crazy and doesnt stop moving and I have been suffering braxton hicks for 2 weeks now (they didnt start till 34 weeks last time), they were pretty bad last night. I am worried that the stress is affecting the baby......can stress affect my baby or am I worrying over nothing.

So sorry to hear all that you are going through. I can imagine how stressful it must be. I'm sure your baby will be absolutely fine but perhaps try to find things you can do to unwind / take a big mental breath? Maybe yoga, or a nice treat from time to time (hair cut, nails done, herbal tea with some friends, even just half an hour reading in the fresh air). Hard I'm sure but try to find some time to look after and treat yourself. Also, can you talk to any senior managers at work to sort out how to share some more of the burden? Best of luck.

Your workload sounds pretty heavy and I wonder if you should consider seeing your gp with a view to being signed off for a while?

I'm also pg, 28 wks with no 3 and quite stressed. Dh and I are self employed, he's away from home 4-5 days per week, I have a 20 mile round trip for nursery, have to get ds on school bus at 8am and do paperwork etc in evenings (and a bit of ahem, Mumsnet...). Business is not good right now and we're pretty stressed about money, I do get very worried too. Kids are sometimes little monkeys and I also get stressed with them and wonder how much of this is normal and how much I really need to take stock of and relax.

Sorry I didn't mean to turn this to all about me I'm just sympathising and wondering the same thing......?!

Hiya thanks for your replies and advice.

imustbepatient have tried normal relaxation techniques and they help slightly :)
bramblina you sound like your going thro a terrible time just now too it's absolutely horrible I've considered going to my GP but worried about the impact this will have on the staff I leave behind. I constantly worry how my job share partner is going to cope when I'm off on mat leave even tho I'm only part time I stress about work when at home and constantly called into work on my off days which is a nightmare both for stress and getting child are for my DD.
clarella I remember ou saying you were signed off for slapped cheek have you managed to sort out your thyroid problems? The problem with my hips and pelvis isn't helping o be honest I keep thinking why should I struggle to get into work just to deal with the stress it is causing. I do karate but have stopped for the last 4 weeks due to the pelvic pain have even stopped going to aquanatal classes as work has been that bad I feel guilty about going to the class. Feel like I'm in a lose lose situation xx

Doh my baby brain and fat fingers messed up my pm to you lauraloo! Sorry! Hope you don't mind me messaging you, it was a bit long for here.
Thyroid is ok but too high due to what we now think was some some unstable medication however that, on top of slapped cheek and work stress has been too much. I imagine like me, you normally find exercise helps, and lack of doing that won't be helping - were you going to aquanatal during the day? I would either urge you to try and keep that going if it helps hips and/or chat to the gp about how you feel. I do understand how much guilt about letting others down can be hard. I'm not sure how to deal with that bit yet but I know that its important to take care of you so that you can take care of baby.

One thing I have thought of is going along to my martial arts training classes to just see people and watch rather than train simply for the routine and sanity. There's always silly stuff going on! Not managed yet but you might find it helps xx

Laura I understand you must be very consciencious but you do need to look after yourself and baby as a priority. Will you be going back to work? Will you be off for a long time? It may sound harsh but if you are not going back or not for a long time then in that period it will not be your responsibilty and perhaps you should begin that back seat position early- you may also be doing a favour to the one who takes over from you? You don't want to get to 40 weeks and be absolutely exhausted.