    

 |  |  |  |  |  | | | Pregnancy & Birth | Depression: Prenatal, Maternal, and Postpartum |  | BACK TO: Depression: Prenatal, Maternal, and Postpartum | 
 | | | NEXT MESSAGE |  |  |  | | AUTHOR: | jenninpain | DATE: 08/04/03 3:45pm | | SUBJECT: | Being afraid to death that my anxiety will hurt the baby |  |  | Hi, Here is how my sad story started: I am married with 2 kids, 14 and 11. When I found out I was pregnant my husband and I decided to keep this baby because we belive in life and don't want to kill. I am 38 yrs old but I belive I am healthy. Through out the first 26 weeks of pregnancy I was happy, a little bit anxious but were albe to calm down with ease. I thought I did a good job and everything was and will be fine. However, during my visit to the doc office when I was almost 27 weeks, the doc told me I have high blood pressure. He blamed me for being too nervous and told me high blood pressure will cause premature labor and low birth weight babis. As if he put a curse on me, I started to measure my blood pressure every half an hour and are in panic and despair. I want to know what I do or in what position of my body that will lessen my blood pressure. After 2 weeks of being in such a panic state, I lost 3 lbs and one day when I woke up, I found I can't let the anxiety go away. My heart is racing, my blood pressure is even higher, I feel restless no matter what I do. I feel tense. I can't sleep. I have to force myself to eat. Now I am even more stressed because I heard people taking about researches on the possible effect of stress and anxiety in a pregnant woman on the fetus. They said it will affect the fetus's developing brain and make them hyperactive or being learning-disabled later in life. This scares me a lot and now I am so afraid all this panic and anxiety had done to my unborn baby. I am so scared that I even begged my ob to deliver my baby early! Who can reassure me that most likely my baby will be fine? I need your reply desparately. I am almost 33 weeks now. |  |  |  |
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