Really bad pregnancy anxiety

[Dreamhex]

Hey! This is quite a serious question and hopefully I get nice answers and people don’t think I’m being ridiculous! But does anyone else have really bad pregnancy anxiety around something going wrong?

im 24 weeks today and I’ve been so worried throughout. I got to the 12 weeks scan and I thought I would be better but I wasn’t, then the 20 week scan and still not better and now ‘viability’ (I hate that term!) week and still feel so anxious. Every little symptom sends me googling for hours and I’ve lost track of the times I’ve called the triage team now. I think they will block my number soon.

any body had this? How did you get over it/help it? I have mentioned this to my midwife and will mention it again next eeek but just don’t see what they can do for me :( I do have health anxiety pre pregnancy so it’s probably stemming from that and being hyper aware of whatever my body does! It’s driving me and probably everyone else crazy :(

It's because you're Googling. If you can avoid that then things will improve.

Honestly I wish I could just stop it’s an addiction at this point 😭 I have good days and then really crappy days!

@Dreamhex I can only fully sympathise with you as I am exactly the same. I am 24 weeks 5 days and like you thought I would feel better at 12 weeks and then at 20 weeks but that never happened. If I don't feel baby moving I panic (called triage a few times too) and it moves a lot I panic that it might be in distress. I am also googling a lot and easier said that done to stop doing it.
I mentioned it to my midwife very early on as this anxiety (although I am anyway of an anxious nature) started because I had an mmc just before this pregnancy. The midwife referred me to the mental health team and I am still on a waiting list to start CBT.
I don't have much advice and like you I have good and bad days but it is exhausting... We really need to manage this anxiety better for the sake of our littles ones as it will only get worse, but how?

@TTCbaby2023 im so sorry you are feeling the same way. Honestly I feel like we are exactly the same I too have had the worry of too little movement then too much movement (he is a very active little baby!)

it’s so hard to just stop stressing! I think my anxiety is worth because it took us 2 years to conceive and we were on the IVF waiting list before falling pregnant naturally and I almost feel too lucky and like my luck will run out some how :(

I will mention it again next week and hopefully she has something to help me out 🤞

I do this, but it's because I have anxiety generally, especially health anxiety, and so have obviously focused that on the pregnancy. I'm lucky in that I had it before, so was immediately referred to my trust's perinatal mental health team who are fantastic. Ask the midwife if they have a mental health provision- they should do. Meanwhile it's worth investigating cbt/dbt and mindfulness if you haven't already done so. The methods can be really helpful at getting you to feel more in control of anxieties.

I definitely feel this pressure in regard to- its the little one you want to protect from your anxiety, which is hard when they're what you're worried about!

@Dreamhex We are definitely very alike. I conceived naturally but after many years and at 42 I feel like it is my last chance and also like luck will run out somehow sometime. It's scary to feel happy.
Talk to your midwife about it and don't hesitate to insist

Totally agree @TTCbaby2023 on the feeling that you might jinx it! Also an older mum here who didn't expect to get pregnant at all- so it's definitely triggered my anxieties.