“Every pregnancy is difference whether it’s the first or the fifth,” she
says. “No two women are going to have exactly the same experiences, so
comments that compare one pregnancy to another often aren’t helpful.”
“Pregnancy
is such an emotional, hormonal time and often we can become upset about
things that in the usual course of events we’d just take on the chin or
ignore. That’s because, apart from the hormones, it’s not just
ourselves that we’re concerned about during pregnancy - there is a new
little life inside us and a lot of our anxiety is for their wellbeing.”
Jenn,
Bernice encourages you that getting some third party support and
reassurance can often help to put everything into perspective. “Women
are verbal – more so than men,” she says. “And it can be wonderful to
talk to other women about anything pregnancy-related that you’re not
sure about or which you need reassurance about.” So Jenn, if you’re not
getting that support and reassurance from your immediate circle … then
look further afield!
“It’s important for parents and parent-to-be
to know that there’s help at the end of the telephone,” says Bernice.
“Often women just need reassurance and some moral support, and they can
pick up the phone 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to speak to someone,
whether that is a counsellor, a psychologist or a medical professional.
And they can ring as often as they like, all throughout the pregnancy
and after.”
