The Hormonal Rollercoaster Ride

One minute you feel on top of the world. The next, an insensitive comment from your partner has you second-guessing your decision to start a family with someone so clueless, selfish, and immature.

Welcome to the rollercoaster ride of pregnancy mood swings—a ride that tends to becomes particularly hair-raising during late the third trimester. That's when hormonal changes conspire with labor, birth, and parenthood worries, you're likely to find yourself just as panicked that the ride will continue as you are that it will end.

The best way to cope with pregnancy mood swings is to accept the fact that they’re part of the pregnancy experience for most moms-to-be and to seek out support from other moms who have successfully weathered the rollercoaster ride and who can pass along some survival strategies: for example,

• Getting enough rest (or as much rest as you can get, given all those middle-of-the-night treks to the bathroom)
• Keeping your body well nourished (food plays a role in helping to regulate mood)
• Enjoying the stress-busting benefits of regular exercise (provided, of course, that your healthcare provider has given you the green light to be physically active)
• Learning stress management techniques like relaxation breathing, yoga, listening to music, meditation, and progressive muscle relaxation (both so that you can put them to use now and so that you'll have them to turn to during the challenging days and even more challenging nights as a new mom).

Note: it’s one thing to be having the odd weepy moment; it’s quite another to be battling full-blown prenatal depression—a condition that needs to be treated for the health of you and your baby. If you suspect that you could be becoming depressed, talk to your healthcare provider.[ link to earlier article on prenatal depression – pregnancy short articles batch one ]