Emotional changes

| During pregnancy, the woman suffers not only physical changes, but also emotional ones

Pregnancy is a situation of very obvious physical changes, but psychological ones are also very important. These changes can affect family, social and work activities. The levels of neurotransmitters1 in the brain are also altered by hormones.

In the first trimester, feelings of anxiety, ambivalence or mood swings are frequent, they are moments of great emotional fluctuation. The pregnant woman needs time to accept this new situation and fears about the ability to cope with the new situation are frequent. Some women present situations of sudden changes of humor going from the euphoria to the sadness or the bad humor. These changes are more frequent between 6 and 10 weeks of gestation due to hormonal factors. More often than not, women with significant physical symptoms, such as malaise, nausea, and vomiting, are sadder. Sexual desire tends to decrease due to fatigue, physical discomfort, and fear of harming the fetus. This part requires understanding of the couple.

In the second trimester, the woman usually feels more serene. Its character is more positive, in part because the hormonal changes are not as marked as in the first trimester. In some women, physical changes can hinder their usual activity, both work and leisure, but they usually accept it well since their order of priorities is different. This period of emotional calm usually causes the sexual appetite that had decreased during the first trimester to reappear, and also favored by the increase in sensitivity.

In the last weeks of gestation, restlessness and fear reappear, fear that the delivery could be complicated and that the baby will have problems. The childbirth preparation courses help reduce this anxiety.

The feeling in the third trimester is that time passes slowly, the physical difficulties and insomnia that usually appear do not help in this regard. Nest syndrome usually appears, the need to clean, make changes at home, leave everything ready for the baby's arrival.