High Risk Pregnancy, Anxiety, and Maternal Health, with Parijat Deshpande, Author of 'Pregnancy Brain' - a podcast by Jen Hardy

from 2018-08-22T07:00

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Today, Parijat Deshpande and I talked about:

Parijat's own story of high-risk pregnancy. She had endometriosis, and needed to use IFV to get pregnant.
Ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome is rare but can happen if you doing an egg retrieval and transfer right after.
Preterm labor contractions can worsen when when you are in pain, when you are uncomfortable, and when your anxiety is high.
Because she was monitored constantly, she could tell that those things caused contractions immediately. So she made sure to get rid of the pain, make herself comfortable, and reduce her anxiety, which gave the baby an extra 15 days, allowing him to have a chance at life.
Anxiety that's held in your body, not the mind, is the most dangerous for your reproductive health.
This anxiety causes actual physiological stress response in your body. When you control that, you cause chemical changes that help you manage and heal the complications you have.
If you lose a pregnancy, the shock will hit 3-5 days after. Get the support you need to go through that. (You can find help in episode 8 - Sunshine Through the Storm) of The Sick Mom's Guide Podcast at jenhardy.net/episode8)

Who is Parijat Deshpande?
Parijat Deshpande is the leading high-risk pregnancy expert,
perinatal mind-body wellness counselor, speaker and author who
guides women to quickly and effectively release their stress during
their high-risk pregnancy so they can manage their complications
give their baby a strong start to life. Her unique approach has
served hundreds of women to manage pregnancy complications and
reclaim a safety and trust in their bodies that they thought was
eroded forever.

Parijat is the author of the best-selling book Pregnancy Brain: A Mind-Body Approach to Stress Management During a High-Risk Pregnancy_. She is also the host of the popular podcast Delivering Miracles®, that discusses the real, raw side of family-building including infertility, loss,
high-risk pregnancy, bed rest, prematurity and healing once baby
comes home.

Parijat's tips to release physical anxiety:
Anything that's going to relax your body:

Massage
Yoga
Stretching
Deep Breathing
Sometimes exercise, it can increase body anxiety, so it's not always the best option.
It doesn't matter what's happening in your head, it's what's happening in your body, especially when you're pregnant, so anything that relaxes you is good.

After you have the baby:

Take care of yourself: make sure you stay hydrated, and get rest.
You have a higher risk to develop some kind of health complication after a pre-term delivery.
After a high risk pregnancy, don't plan on being "back to normal" within 6 or 8 weeks.
Women who have gone through a high risk pregnancy, around 8-12 weeks, the trauma of pregnancy hits, because you and the baby are safe (or after the baby comes home if they've been in NICU) because you feel safe and start relaxing, and your brain starts dealing with everything.

Quotes from Parijat Deshpande:

"It was in that moment I was not ready to stop fighting. I don't know what mother is...we're fighting for the rest of our children's lives."
"I knew that my contractions got worse when I was in pain, when I was uncomfortable, and when my anxiety was high."
"It's not the thoughts that are in our head that are the issue...it's the anxiety that's sitting in our body, that's the one we need to release. Because that's the one that's impacting our reproductive health. Health in general, but especially reproductive health."
"When I saw that I could manage my complications, especially my pre-term contractions...by managing my pain and my anxiety, and I could see the impact, I knew I had to come back and look more into this...There are 70 plus years of research that show the impact of stress on pregnancy complications. On developing them, on managing them, and on actually reducing the risk for them so that you can stay pregnant for as long as possible.

Parijat's advice:
Trust your body. Your doctor is the medical expert in the room, but they will never be the expert on your body, that's you. So don't ever forget that. Bring your expertise into the room. Make them listen. Explain what's going on as clearly as you can, and if they won't listen, walk away.

Parijat's superpower:

Being able to put somebody else's experience into words when they can't.

You can learn more about Parijat Deshpande and her work at

www.parijatdeshpande.com

Book Link: www.parijatdeshpande.com

https://www.facebook.com/ParijatDesh

https://twitter.com/parijatdesh/

https://www.instagram.com/parijatdesh

https://www.pinterest.com/parijatdesh

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCS-y3p6DfELaZd3Fp7nYtA

Thank you for joining me today!

Want more? Go to HardyMom.com and you'll find ways to live well, grow, and enjoy your life again -with any health challenges.