How to Deal With Pregnancy Mood Swings

During pregnancy, under the action of hormones, emotions are amplified. If you are pregnant, you might go from laughing to tears in a short time! Excitement, nervousness, laughter, tears, joy, sadness – are all emotions experienced in a very short time during pregnancy mood swings.

If you don’t know, once you get pregnant, you are subjected to a veritable whirlwind of emotions that can lead to pregnancy mood swings. 

Pregnancy mood swings in the first trimester are prevalent with varying intensity from person to person.

Here are some tips and tricks to better understand these pregnancy mood swings and to tame them.

Are pregnancy mood swings normal?

What is happening to you is confusing but quite normal. Some women, usually sensitive, might be more calm and relaxed than usual during their pregnancy. 

Others, on the contrary, are much more on edge. Either way, these pregnancy mood swings are involuntary. The cause of all this agitation? Hormones. 

When do mood swings start in pregnancy?

Mood swings during early pregnancy stages are prevalent. Mood swings could be emotional early signs of pregnancy.

Also Try: Early Pregnancy Quiz

Hormones highlight emotions

The hormonal bath of pregnancy predisposes to a greater emotivity. Variations in mood can show this as we can experience at puberty, during menstrual cycles, at menopause. Hormones, in full swing, highlight the emotions.

Emotions resurface

This hormonal flow stirs emotions and can bring back previous facts, sometimes badly digested.

It must be said that pregnancy, if it brings about an actual physical upheaval, also leads to upheaval from a psychological point of view.

You might find yourself asking a lot of questions. You start thinking back to the child you were, the childhood you had, the education you received, or your relationship with your parents. 

Also Try: Do I Have a Healthy Relationship With My Parents Quiz

You might also find yourself worrying too much.

What tests are necessary during pregnancy? Is my baby okay? How will childbirth go? Will I be a good mom?

You become more sensitive and feel more worried about things that displease you. Then, you may become angry about ridiculous and simple things that should not take too much of your energy!

With that being said, instead of just patiently suffering, to cope with these emotions, deal with them.

It is as if the body said to the pregnant woman: Calm down your past, even recent, to prepare you for this new life and make yourself available for your baby!

This upheaval is necessary. You should not be guilty. You have to take it as a chance to find your balance and be at peace with yourself.

How to react to your pregnancy mood swings

Finally, you can take action. Here are the best things to do:

1. Analyze your moods

If, for example, you argue with your mother every time she calls you, find out why you are angry. Ask yourself some questions, something like:

 Is she being too absent for your liking? Does she do differently for you and your brother or sister? Are you afraid that she will die? 

If we cry for detail, there is a message behind it. Follow the psychic thread.

Here is an advice for you:

Write in a logbook of your pregnancy how you feel each time you have a sudden change in mood, both positive and negative. Writing allows you to distance yourself from your emotions.

Then reread yourself to understand what caused this emotion and what it says about you. It works like magic! With the hectic pace of life, we don’t always take the time to reflect on ourselves or our feelings. 

However, writing down your thoughts helps you to understand your moods and behaviors better.

2. Calm tensions down

You can, for example, call your mother back to address the real reason for your anger calmly. Send her an SMS, a letter, or, depending on the case, take your distance a little more to protect yourself and limit the duration of your anger.

Have fun thinking about lighter things and take care of yourself, walk in nature, listen to music, read, do yoga, go to a restaurant with friends, watch a movie.

Most importantly, sleep well to be rested and more able to settle your emotions. Sleeping well reduces fatigue and helps you fight depression.

3. Don’t make it worse

When you are not feeling well, avoid looking for information on the Internet about problems related to pregnancy or childbirth. 

 Wait until you feel better about this kind of revelation.

Related Reading: Overcoming the 3 Most Common Marriage Problems During Pregnancy

4. Talk about your feelings without shame

You are not supposed to endure everything stoically. You must always be encouraged to express your feelings.

To avoid feeling guilty, you must talk about how you feel to your partner and those around you.

You can also address your concerns during the early prenatal period, in any month of pregnancy, or even during pregnancy preparation points.

All this could help you to put these upheavals into perspective.

Watch this video to understand the emotional changes that you may experience during pregnancy.

5. Eat healthy food

You need to eat a healthy diet during pregnancy. It is beneficial for you and your baby as well. 

A healthy diet will give you all the nutrients you need, keep you feeling good, and make you look great.

Related Reading: How Can Husbands Handle Their Wives’ Pregnancy Cravings?

6. Do something you like

 A moment of depression? 

To drive the blues away, there’s nothing like doing something you like, like taking a nice hot bath, giving yourself a massage, or going to the movies with your best friend. 

In short, it is a question of “creating a diversion” to accelerate the return of good humor. 

7. Seek medical help

If, despite everything, that is not enough to calm your pregnancy mood swings, that you live badly, it is recommended to get help and have external support. 

You can discuss it with your relatives, spouse or friends.

Also, you can consider talking to your midwife, your general practitioner, or the maternity psychologist.

Health care providers can help you manage fatigue, improve physical issues, or manage stress.

When to talk to your doctor about pregnancy mood swings

If you are very concerned about your emotions and how you perceive yourself or pregnancy, or if you experience distress, see your doctor or another healthcare professional immediately. Researchers have found that the risk of certain psychiatric disorders also increases during pregnancy. 

Watch out for the following signs of pregnancy mood swings:

• Persistent pregnancy mood swings (which have lasted for more than 2 weeks without a break)
• Anxiety
• Ruminations
• Frequent inability to fall asleep or feel tired
• Inability to eat or frequent lack of appetite
• Memory problems, difficulty concentrating or making decisions
• Loss of interest in usual activities that you used to enjoy
• Lack of energy, especially after the first trimester
• Constant worries about the baby’s development
• Sadness and frequent crying
• Feelings of guilt, worthlessness or hopelessness
• Attempt to isolate yourself from loved ones
• Black thoughts or suicidal thoughts.

These symptoms may indicate prenatal depression or an anxiety disorder. It will be easier to be treated if you see it as soon as possible. 

Luckily, though, there are several treatments to help you feel better, with or without medication. Your doctor will discuss the pros and cons of each with you and your partner.  

Baby blues after childbirth

After childbirth, new hormonal changes take place in your body. Therefore, you may feel sad in the days after childbirth. This is perfectly normal. 

This is called the baby blues because it appears a few days after childbirth, and the symptoms are pregnancy irritability, anxiety, vulnerability, mood swings.

Over time, when your hormones return to their usual levels, you will find that your pregnancy mood swings will go away.

The disappearance of placental hormones relieves, but if the mother breastfeeds, the hormone oxytocin appears, and this causes significant fatigue. 

Takeaway

Sadness, euphoria, irritability… For many women, pregnancy is a chain of uncontrollable emotions.

A woman’s feelings change with each trimester of pregnancy, and each phase brings its own set of emotions. 

In the first trimester, you may have trouble just being pregnant.  During the second trimester, you might focus on the fact that you will have a baby. In the third trimester, you will likely continue on this path as you contemplate the responsibilities and joys of being a mother. 

All of this shakes up your mind and body… You will have to adapt to your emotions.

It’s a delicate period. The mother can feel depressed, misunderstood, overwhelmed. You shouldn’t ignore your feelings. Otherwise, it can develop into postpartum depression.

Also, if you see yourself struggling to overcome your baby blues, I advise you to talk about it with your doctor without being ashamed of how you feel.

Many women are familiar with this situation, and there will always be people who will be happy to help you.

Do not hesitate to ask your doctor for any advice at any time.

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Dema JS is the founder of newbabysmell.com and a mother of two little kids. Dema had her MBA from St. John’s University- NYC in dual concentrations: Executive Management and Marketing Management.

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