As your pregnancy advances, it’s normal to be just a little nervous. Perhaps, you’re unnaturally tired, thirsty or hungry. At this delicate time, it’s necessary to listen to yourself, to your body. You can get the benefit of listening to your body and its needs by meditating. This will help you get rejuvenated, refreshed and a lot more focused.

What is meditation?

If you want to spend some quiet time to connect and breathe and to clear your mind, that’s meditation. It brings you inner peace, you get in touch with yourself through your thoughts, breath and mental focus. You can achieve this by deep breathing or attend a class or retreat and experience this wonderful feeling called meditation.

Benefits: Some of the leading benefits of meditation include:

Benefits Of Meditation During Pregnancy

Calms the stress of pregnancy:

Though most women enjoy their nine months of pregnancy, they all go through intense stress too. A certain amount of stress is normal, but for women to undergo protracted stress periods could adversely affect your unborn baby. Stress hormones like cortisol when released over a long period, can trigger an inflammatory response that could cause an early delivery or one with low birth weight, developmental problems or hyperactivity.

Other problems stress can cause include:

• Increased complications of labour
• Elevates the risk of miscarriage
• Heightens the risk of birth defects;
• Increased use of prescription medicines
• Worsening pain during labour

Relieves pain and increases pleasure:

Endorphins have the power of relieving one of pain and increasing pleasure. As women tend to feel more pain during labour, endorphins work to reduce the pain. If a pregnant woman meditates during pregnancy, her endorphin level will increase.

Reduces risk of depression:

One in five women goes through depression during pregnancy. Handling this depression is very difficult for them because their pregnancy does not allow them to take antidepressants or they will lose their baby. However, meditation can lower the symptoms of depression in pregnant women, and ease the stress associated with pregnancy and increase the feeling of connectedness new mothers have with their babies.

Helps pregnant women sleep better:

Pregnancy doesn’t allow women to sleep well, though they need all the sleep they can get. However, the body intervenes and they are left with sleepless nights and periods of wakefulness because of urinating often through the night. If pregnant women practice meditation in their second trimester, they tend to sleep better.

Increases melatonin:

The function of melatonin is to boost the immune system and enhance overall health. It is also a mood upper, has a calming effect on the mind and gives a greater feeling of contentment and wellbeing. By meditating regularly, pregnant women can achieve higher melatonin levels, which will make them calmer and happier.

Better blood pressure levels and heart rate:

By meditating regularly, pregnant women can normalize their heart rate and blood pressure levels, which in turn lowers the risk of pre-term foetal brain damage and pre-clampsia.

Lowers the need for Cesarean section and epidural anaesthesia:

Regular meditation can help pregnant women reduce the need for drugs, anesthesia and surgery during delivery. In fact, if research is to be believed, pregnant women who meditate through their pregnancies, have a lower need for Cesarean section surgery by 56 percent and that of epidural anesthesia reduced by 85 percent.

Positive birth plan:

Meditation can also help pregnant women the freedom and space to plan the kind of birth they want and work to make it actually happen. With the help of guided imagery, you can visualize yourself as a prepared person completely in control of your situation. This can help pregnant women focus better and release any negativity that could cause a traumatic experience of childbirth for you.

Better connection between you and your baby:

There are some kinds of meditation that can keep new mothers better connected with their babies while still in the womb. A calm pregnant woman can focus better and bond well with the baby.

Conclusion

Pregnant women are eager to do all they can to make sure that the baby gets everything possible to make a good start in life. Meditation is a powerful means of getting the most out of the mother and baby’s health and can strengthen the mother-child bond. Meditation’s effects on pregnancy can be long-lasting, on the mother, baby and family members.

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