Information Overload Anxiety During Pregnancy

Pregnancy and Postnatal Information Sharing Is Good Practice

As a licensed health care professional working with the pregnant population, I often help women and families by providing information.

This information could be links to studies, reputable web links,  or suggestions of topics for further investigation on their own.

We even provide the new mother with a few handouts, and use handouts in some other areas as well, as is the case with Infant Massage classes.

Then, there’s also books. And blogs. And online forums. And informational resource-type web sites.

I suggest checking out everything, but keep it all in perspective, or don’t even bother.

Digest As Much Info As You Can Comfortably Deal With

I always encourage pregnant people to seek out as much information as they’re comfortable with.

And not a bit more.

The truth is, information is good. Learning is a positive. Always.

But at some point, if information leads to anxiety, it’s time to rethink your relationship with learning about pregnancy and postnatal topics.

As a prenatal and postnatal LMT, Lactation Professional, and Health Education course author, I know that health information is powerful.

Information can set us right, but we have to approach the topic of health and the perinatal phase with great respect, and remember that the conditions of pregnancy are like the conditions women fall ill with when not pregnant or in the postpartum phase of life, in that a percentage of women develop health conditions, whether pregnant or not.

Of course, there are conditions specific to the perinatal phase, but it’s the same thing: Not every woman who is not pregnant will develop a health condition; likewise, not every pregnant woman will develop complications.

And so, undue anxiety and fear about developing the complication you’ve just read about is like a person who is healthy worrying that they’ll test positive for liver disease in the future, while they’ve never actually had any indications in the past or present that their liver wasn’t working properly, and don’t engage in any activities that would cause liver diease!

Learning About Pregnancy Can Be Scary

Why is learning about pregnancy a difficulty for some women?

Many have confided in me and explained that they read about all the issues that may arise, just to be informed, but it becomes a sort-of activity that eventually only arouses fear.

It’s good to know the signs and symptoms of the various issues and complications that may arise during pregnancy.

It’s not good to force yourself to encounter more than you can deal with emotionally, and end up reading accounts of women with serious issues, or even Wikipedia pages about pregnancy issues, scaring yourself because you want to feel “tough.” It’s too much.

Remember, the majority of pregnancies are without complication.

And even if you do experience complications., medical science is advanced enough to deal with most without serious issue.

The same goes for postpartum issues and breastfeeding issues.

Everything that you encounter can be dealt with.

If you’re trying to avoid complications, your best bet is to eat and drink right, exercise, walk, and stretch out, and don’t stress!

Join up with other women at your phase of pregnancy in real life, if possible.

And don’t discount the “fourth trimester”! You still need help and must heal.

Fact, Fiction, or Opinion? Pregnancy and Postpartum Myths

Pregnancy and postnatal myths are everywhere!

In truth, you can never be over-informed. As long as you’re dealing with facts, all is well.

But what is factual and what is merely perspective and opinion?

I think that’s a good philosophical question, but we can draw delineations.

Both fact and opinion are worth learning about, but neither should ever really cause the pregnant person any stress.

There are myths that are untrue surrounding a lot of aspects of life, and health, besides the prenatal and postnatal myths.

There’s literally everywhere, like I said.

Misinformation is rampant.

Why? Everyone these days has a platform, via social media.

Just because someone says something doesn’t make it true.

Just because 100 people say the same thing doesn’t make it true, either.

I’d say unless you’re just checking out myths just for fun and entertainment, or as a sociological health-check of society’s past and present moral and mental state, they serve no function.

Myths are otherwise worthless.

Licensed Health Care Providers Are Reputable, But Even They Often Disagree

First of all, a licensed and reputable perinatal health care provider is a good source of information.

However, health care providers are not in agreement regarding many things, especially about pregnancy, breastfeeding, and postnatal care for the new Mom.

How do you decide what’s what, in instances like those?

Who should you listen to? Which provider is correct?

Do you consider what uni they’ve graduated from? Their med school program? The scientific papers they’ve authored?

Okay; but then also, at the end of the day, respect your own intellect and intuition.

You need to listen to yourself.

And, trust yourself, so that you can listen and actually respect yourself enough to abide by what you have learned, and know that an informed patient is really the goal.

You need to be an informed medical care consumer, and read up on all the topics you’re asking the health care professionals about.

Learn the facts. Learn the controversies. Learn the popular thinking on the topic.

In the end, you need to inform yourself, and evaluate sources of information with careful scrutiny.

Only you can choose a doctor or nutritionist or lactation care professional; pick someone who has expressed ideas about treatment and care that align with your own.

Don’t let the negative voice of a past ob-gyn you went to stick in your head keeping you anxious when you’ve already moved on to a new practitioner with a more science-based, and positive, perspective.

Women’s Firsthand Accounts Are Gold

We encourage pregnant women and postnatal Moms to join online groups dedicated to the topics of pregnancy, postnatal recovery, and breastfeeding.

It’s a great place to share stories and get firsthand accounts. Many women find solace in sharing. Some do not.

You do you. Share or don;t share.

However, remember, every women experiences pregnancy differently, and even the same woman may have vastly different experiences pregnancy to pregnancy.

And so, don’t let a particularly negative post scare you unnecessarily.

Living in fear of developing complications during pregnancy is sad, and you’re wasting your opportunity to feel the wonder of pregnancy, stuck in your mind-loop that’s not helping anything.

From Personal Account To Propagating Questionable Science

And, when women go beyond the telling of their accounts and begin talking about some pseudo-scientific theory or another, usually an idea that’s popular at the time on social media and in pop culture, we need to remember that they’re no longer merely telling you about what they experienced, but rather trying to parse the entire experience through some filter or another, in support of some (untested) idea that they encountered somewhere.

Often, this intersects with politics. However, just as often, it does not.

Be cautious with posts like those.

A postpartum woman is not an ob-gyn; if a member on any message board starts saying stuff that seems a bit off, do keep in mind that anyone can post, and some women may not realize they’ve strayed from completely valid personal account to the retelling of pop science, which may, or may not, be bunk.

In Conclusion, I’d Say Approach Perinatal Info With Curiosity, Not Fear

In all the aspects of fear of pregnancy and postnatal information detailed above in this article, in every instance it’s because the pregnant person is afraid and anxious.

Sometimes it’s just their own mind, but in many cases it’s due to something they’ve read.

It could be a particularly harrowing account of birthing on an online forum, or it could be simply reading about complications in an online encyclopedia.

The source can also be a family member, friend, co-worker, neighbor,  or even a medical professional.

Be aware of any fear and anxiety you may harbor toward pregnancy, the postnatal phase, and breastfeeding and infant care.

Consider rooting out the fear, taking it to its cause, and examining why you’re afraid.

Then, move on, and remember learning is supposed to be fun, and satisfying the curiously of learning is a good thing.

Of course, learning is not meant to be a morbid curiosity or fear-fest, so keeping everything in perspective, remembering that learning aids us in decision-making and helps us to be prepared for pregnancy and beyond, is key.