How to Take the Stress Out of Pre-Conception Worries

I know that six months is not that long when trying to conceive, but to me it seemed like an eternity. I was so consumed with conception, fertility, and getting pregnant, it was all I could think about. I just assumed that it would be easy, like many women I figured that it is what our bodies are meant to do and it would happen in no time. I was wrong and I know many other women who have struggled with the same issue. It can really wreak havoc on you mentally, and if you don't keep it under control it can be overpowering. All of this is easier said than done, but I found some stress relieving tricks that worked quite well for me.

I am one of those people who throw myself into whatever I am doing. Now that I'm a mom I've done a ton of research and reading, I work hard to educate myself on everything I can. Sometimes this is good and sometimes it's bad, and I found that an overload of information could be quite overwhelming when it came to pre-conception. The first thing I can offer to women going through the whole pre-conception saga is to put down the books. Sure, the books do come in handy at certain times but if overdone they can really drive you crazy. I found the same thing with the Internet, you don't know who is writing what, which is credible information, and you can soon be swimming in a sea of websites--many of which offer conflicting information. Try as hard as you can to steer clear of these sites and books for awhile if pre-conception is getting the best of you.

Exercise doesn't sound like it can be a stress reliever, but it really is. I found that I looked forward to my daily workouts, it gave me an escape from the mental anguish I was putting myself through. I felt better, had more energy, and it gave me something to focus on besides my desire to get pregnant and ultimately have a baby. I was focused on my workouts and in turn was in good health, this also ended up preparing my body for pregnancy a bit more.
Yoga became a big part of my work out routine, I learned to love it! Most people don't realize what a great workout you can get from yoga, but it's amazing. Even more importantly, it helps you to harness all of that energy and move it into something productive and relaxing. I felt like a new woman after I did yoga, so relaxed and free of the pre-conception worry that I was living with the rest of the time. I still practice it and found it very helpful during pregnancy too!

I've written about my experiences with holistic medicine and never were they more wonderful than in pre-conception. I was and will always be a firm believer that eastern medicine and alternative practices can be the best thing for us. Pre-conception is what really opened my mind to this and I feel like it really worked in our situation. I went to acupuncture once a week for awhile, made the teas prescribed to me at home (as gross as they were!), and even pursued and went through two sessions of reiki. Whenever you are focusing your energy in a way that reiki and acupuncture can offer, it is a life changing experience. I highly recommend these practices to women going through pre-conception mayhem.

Writing is obviously my passion, and I found it very helpful when it came to pre-conception. I had never been one to keep a journal, but I learned to write down the things that I was grateful for. I also learned to use positive thinking when it came to trying to get pregnant, I would write down my wants and desires and try hard to focus all of my positive energy.
Above all of this, prayer is what helped me through the terrible pre-conception days. You just assume that when the time comes to get pregant that it will be a positive experience, but it can really cause stress, frustration, anger, and ultimately depression. I was always a spiritual person but never turned to prayer as much as I did when I knew I wanted a baby. Prayer may not work for everyone, but it was part of my ritual and gave me a bit of peace in my day.

I wish much luck to any woman going through the highs and lows of pre-conception. I found some things that worked well for me, and I hope that they can inspire some tried and true relaxation methods for other moms to be out there.