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Part 2: Tips for Coping with Anxiety While Pregnant during COVID-19
by Drs. Katie Lawlor and Jamie Kent Anxiety during pregnancy is common and maintaining peace of mind during the COVID-19 pandemic can feel particularly challenging. Each time you turn on the TV or go online, there is a barrage of new information, with countless reports on how to best protect yourself and the health of your baby. There is often an inclination to engage in behaviors that seem protective, however sometimes they can actually increase anxiety levels. For example, googling the latest statistics to stay informed may cause you to become overwhelmed. You may also feel compelled to act on these worries by excessively cleaning your home or stockpiling groceries and supplies. Or perhaps you are living in a community under shelter-in-place orders and feel isolated from your support system. Maybe the maternity classes you had planned to attend have been postponed or cancelled and you are unsure of where to look for guidance. Below is a list of ideas and resources aimed at improving your mood and sense of well-being as you prepare to welcome your baby. All of these can be done in the comfort of your home. Self-Care Activities: Making time to engage in comforting and calming activities can provide relief from stress. Ideas include reading a book or magazine, drinking a cup of tea, listening to classical music, watching the sunset or looking at the stars at night, gardening or planting flowers, baking, or watching a favorite show or movie. Stay Physically Active: Exercise releases endorphins, which are chemicals secreted in the brain and nervous system that help relieve pain and anxiety while improving our moods. Research has shown that just 5 minutes of movement has positive benefits for both our physical and mental health. Suggested activities for women who are expecting include yoga, walking, and dancing. It is recommended that you always consult with your physician before beginning a new exercise routine during pregnancy. Be Mindful: Mindfulness activities have been shown to reduce physical feelings of tension and pain, as well as negative thoughts. Jon Kabat-Zinn, one of the founders of mindfulness-based stress reduction, describes the concept as “paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally.” There are several ways to practice mindfulness in your daily life, and these free online resources can help you begin: UCLA Mindful Awareness Research Center San Francisco Center for Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Harvard Health Publishing – Benefits of Mindfulness Mayo Clinic Mindfulness Exercises Reduce Worry through (Online) Education: It’s entirely natural to feel nervous when thinking ahead to labor, delivery, breastfeeding, and infant care. Learning what to expect during each stage can help reduce uncertainty and provide clarification. This information may also help you better articulate your intentions, act with agency, and advocate for yourself. You can prepare by signing up for online classes that cover a variety of relevant topics: Stanford Health Care Maternity Classes UCSF Women’s Health Pregnancy and Postpartum Classes Sutter Health Pregnancy Classes and Events BabyCenter’s Pregnancy and Baby Videos (Free) Nest: While you may not be able to shop at your favorite baby store or boutique, you can begin to prepare your home for baby’s arrival. Activities you can do without leaving the house include deep cleaning the room you will use for the nursery, assembling furniture such as the crib or changing table, purchasing items you need such as diapers and wipes online, washing and folding new and gifted clothes, and arranging beloved books, art, and stuffed animals. You may also want to pack your hospital bag, including items such as a warm robe/nightgown, socks/slippers, a nursing bra, toiletries, and comfortable outfits for both you and the baby to go home in. Journal: Journaling is a great way to release worry and stress. Writing about stressors can increase understanding, which in turn clarifies what is both within and outside your control. Expectant mothers often enjoy documenting the journey of pregnancy itself in a designated pregnancy journal. With pregnancy comes a seesaw of emotion, from the wonder of each time the baby kicks, to the excitement of meeting him or her, to the moments of fear and apprehension, and the meaning behind becoming a mother. There is so much to process and no wrong way to journal. Talk to Someone: Confiding in a trusted friend or family member can provide you with a safe, compassionate space to process issues you are particularly apprehensive about. Feeling heard and understood may relieve some of your related anxiety. Please keep in mind that your loved ones may not recognize when you could benefit from their support, so you may need to ask them. Consult your Doctor: If you or your loved ones become concerned that anxiety is beginning to impact your daily life, or if you are experiencing recurrent panic attacks and/or having difficulty sleeping, we would strongly encourage you to contact your OB-GYN. The sooner you seek help, the sooner an intervention could improve your symptoms. Furthermore, it may be particularly helpful to speak to a mental health professional, such as a psychologist or therapist, who is specially trained in providing evidence-based treatment and care for pregnant women experiencing anxiety. Catherine Lawlor, Psy.D., and Jamie Kent, Ph.D. Women’s Mental Health Team at Peninsula Behavioral Health
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Pregnancy is a time of anticipation and change, and some degree of anxiety is natural and expected. The recent outbreak of COVID-19 however has added an element of uncertainty and concern to this experience, especially with regard to the potential effects of the virus on how expectant women and their babies can stay healthy. How does the virus spread? The virus spreads primarily from person to person, through respiratory droplets emitted through the air when an infected individual coughs or sneezes. It may also spread when someone touches a surface or object that has the virus on it, then touches their nose, mouth or eyes. It’s also possible that someone may be infected but not have any symptoms and spread the virus. What do we know about risk to expectant mothers and their infants? According to the latest information provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there is not enough data yet to know if pregnant women are at greater risk for contracting COVID-19, as compared to the general population. It also remains unclear whether they are more likely to become symptomatic if they do become infected. To date, there is no definitive evidence that a woman infected with the virus can pass it on to her baby, either in utero or during delivery. While there have been a small number of reports citing complications with pregnancy and delivery, in these cases – for example preterm birth – it is uncertain if the outcomes were related to COVID-19. In a limited number of case studies of infants born to mothers with COVID-19, none of the infants tested positive for the virus. The virus has also yet to be found in samples of amniotic fluid or breastmilk. As pregnant women experience changes in their bodies that may make them more susceptible to certain infections, it is recommended that they engage in protective actions to minimize their risk of exposure. The CDC’s information page for pregnant and postpartum women has the most up-to-date information about risk. What can I do to protect myself from getting the virus?
Will my prenatal visits be cancelled? How safe is the medical system for my visits / delivery? Prenatal visits are routine care critical for ensuring maternal and fetal health. While many elective medical procedures and visits have been rescheduled to a later date, prenatal care continues. Some obstetricians may increase the interval between visits or may encourage telehealth visits. Expectant mothers should discuss with their doctor any concerns about their prenatal care. Medical care systems take many precautions to minimize the risk of exposure to their patients. They follow strict rules to make sure that anyone who needs to be evaluated for COVID-19 is isolated from other patients. We recommend you talk to your doctor about any concerns you have about the precautions your medical system is taking with regard to the risk of exposure during your routine visits or during your hospital stay. You may also have questions about the number of people you can have with you in the delivery room, which your doctor can address. What can I do if I feel anxious or overwhelmed? If you are finding yourself overwhelmed by concerns related to COVID-19, and especially if these thoughts and feelings are interfering with your ability to complete daily tasks, sleep well, or engage in self-care activities, reach out to a mental health professional for support. For tips on coping with anxiety while expecting during COVID-19, read Part 2 to this blog post. Catherine Lawlor, Psy.D., and Jamie Kent, Ph.D. Women’s Mental Health Team at Peninsula Behavioral Health The most recent additions will be at the top of the section.
Updated 4/2/2020 We have compiled a list of resources to help you navigate our new normal. These are activities that can help keep you resilient during this time of stress. They are organized loosley by type including:
We will be updating often, so please come back to check it out. Please email us @ info@penbh.com with any of your favorites. Exercise & Mindfulness We all know the relationship between mood and exercise. Get Outside for a walk, jog or check out some local trails (while keeping distance from others), and virtual options too. It's undisputable, exercise boosts mood! Oprah & Deepak's 21-Day Meditation Experience Hope in Uncertain Times. Register for free! Online Fitness - Peninsula Jewish Community Center At the PJCC, we believe that fitness and wellness activities are essential to building your immune system and staying healthy. That’s why, now that we are required to stay home, we want to provide you with the best fitness and wellness offerings to support your pursuit of Wellness Your Way™. Sunday, March 29th Livestream Jon Kabat-Zinn: Cultivating Mindfulness at this Critical Time Join for us for meditations, talks, and Q & As with Jon Kabat-Zinn(88 kB) Alvin Ailey to stream full-length performances online Dance company Alvin Ailey is moving online. A Care Package for Uncertain Times A collection of podcasts, poetry, meditations and reflection for however you’re processing this moment.(306 kB) Guided Meditation Meditation can remove stress and replace it with a dose of inner peace. But it can be tough to meditate without a teacher or guide. Guided meditations literally walk you through a meditation and help you find a calm and peaceful state—one step at a time. Try one of these unique guided meditations, ranging from five minutes to one hour each. 25+ Fitness Studios and Gyms Offering Live-Stream Workouts These free classes are available to anyone. Live Streamed Dance Classes https://www.dancingalonetogether.org/?fbclid=IwAR1bVFkMGqx9BoMdJOvi2pIwRXnNokLK4S2kxchqkeJ3n3yOt6OJgrM7ihA East Bay Meditation Center has created online Sangha Self-Care Groups (special groups for POC, folks with disability, etc): From boot camp to yoga, YMCA launches 60 free online classes for people stuck at home Among the classes available: boot camp, barre, yoga, weightlifting, boxing, Tai Chi and more. (83 kB) Guide to 30 Local Hiking Trails | POST From the coast to the Peninsula to the South Bay, this hiking guide is sure to help you find the trail that's right for your next outing.(126 kB) Your Guide to Hiking During Quarantine | Modern Hiker If you're stuck indoors due to Coronavirus / COVID-19 but still want to get outside, you'll want to check out this guide to hiking during quarantine. Down Dog | Great Yoga Anywhere Down Dog provides a studio-like yoga experience in the comfort of your home. Education Keeping your and your kids' minds active and engaged can provide a needed break from worry about COVID-19. 10 Family Card Games That Support Early Math Skills Family card games are an inexpensive way to have fun with children while learning important math concepts. Play these 10 card games designed to reinforce and build upon your child’s math skills-- Here's The Entire List of Education Companies Offering Free Subscriptions Due to School Closings With schools closing across the nation, parents and educators are in bit of a panic as they try to figure out how kids can learn Listen Now: Coronavirus BONUS: Beat Your Isolation Loneliness The Happiness Lab With Dr. Laurie Santos from Pushkin Industries on NPR One | 23:56 Yale professor has put her popular course on happiness onto coursera for free https://www.businessinsider.com/coursera-yale-science-of-wellbeing-free-course-review-overview?r=US&IR=T Scholastic offering free courses for kids at home during coronavirus closures Scholastic says the projects aim to “keep kids reading, thinking, and growing.”(103 kB) PSA: These Educational Apps, Websites, and Activities Are Free to Parents Right Now You don't need to be a teacher or an educator to get access. Ivy League Online Courses Free online courses from Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Penn, Princeton, and Yale.(96 kB) Entertainment 12 Art Lessons on YouTube Your Kiddos will Love! - Homeschool Hideout Check out the 12 most thorough and exciting art lessons on YouTube for your budding artists. From sketching to acrylic paints, there's something for all! Dec 5th, 2018(597 kB) Entertainment & Arts Ways to keep yourself entertained by engaging in the arts and other entertainment. Frog and Toad Are Self-Quarantined Friends The Bathroom Frog stood outside the bathroom door. He could hear Toad splashing inside. “Toad! Toad!” shouted Frog, “Open up!” “Blah,” said a voice...(153 kB) Guide to Free Streaming Video Services Want to stream movies free of charge, along with TV series and other video content? These free streaming services let you do just that, Consumer Reports says.(45 kB) Enjoy Nature at Home You don't need to venture far to experience nature. Here is a list of engaging activities to explore nature close to home, or even at home! Share your neighborhood discoveries and homemade artwork with us on social media by tagging us on @midpenopenspace and using #hiddennature. Spring Drawing with Ann McMillan(76 kB) Get Smarter, Sleep Better And Laugh More With The 61 Best Podcasts You Can Listen To In 2020 New series, one-offs and standout podcast episodes from long-running favourites The Best Podcasts to Listen to Now Add these to your listen library immediately. A Podcast Playlist to Help Distract You (for the Most Part) A crowdsourced selection of podcast episodes for this time, from the people who love them and make them. Coronavirus Sanity Guide — Ten Percent Happier Free resources to build resilience and cope with coronavirus stress and anxiety. These meditations, podcasts, talks, and blogposts will help you find some calm amidst the chaos. QUARANTINE ACTIVITIES: a list of activities/resources that are added to daily. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1K4CWv0ic0Hnv5K1LldFItUNN143Gk6bhEGnouvdYHm8/edit ( Shelter in Place: 7x7's Guide to a Creative, Delicious, Peaceful, Wine-and-Workout Filled Life at Home For going on 20 years, 7x7's mission has been to celebrate life in the San Francisco Bay Area. Our team of all-local editors and writers have been on the ground since 2001, working to bring our readers the very freshest, finest, coolest, smartest, tastiest, most authentic local stuff around. Livestream Music Events: Do The Bay This Netflix 'Party' Extension Lets You Have a Remote Movie Night by Syncing Accounts NPR.org A List Of Live Virtual Concerts To Watch During The Coronavirus Shutdown We're updating a list of live musical performances from around the world, categorized by date and genre. Playbill 15 Broadway Plays and Musicals You Can Watch On Stage From Home | Playbill From Newsies to Sweeney Todd, we’re running down some of the best filmed Broadway shows—and where to find them. Time Out New York You can now download over 300,000 books from the NYPL for free There's good news for all the New York City-based e-bookworms out there. The New York Public Library has an app that allows anyone with a library card access Google now lets you explore U.S. National Parks via 360-degree virtual tours – TechCrunch Google Arts & Culture Collections — Google Arts & Culture Google Arts & Culture features content from over 1200 leading museums and archives who have partnered with the Google Cultural Institute to bring the world's treasures online. Free Coloring Books from World-Class Libraries & Museums: The Met, New York Public Library, Smithsonian & More Calling all coloring book lovers. You can now take part in #ColorOurCollections 2017–a campaign where museums and libraries worldwide will make available free coloring books, letting you color artwork from their collections and then share it on Twitter and other social media platforms. The Social Distancing Festival A site the celebrates the work of artists who have had shows or presentations cancelled due to the need for social distancing caused by Coronavirus (COVID-19 The Paris Opera is screening its performances online for free From March 17, the Paris Opera is offering its most beautiful shows, from Swan Lake to Don Giovanni, free online.(170 kB) Audible Stories | Audible.com Free stories for kids of all ages. Audible Stories is a free website where kids of all ages can listen to hundreds of Audible audio titles across six different languages—English, Spanish, French, German, Italian and Japanese—for free, so they can keep learning, dreaming and just being kids.(229 kB) https://m.media-amazon.com/images/G/01/seo/creative/audible-stories-social._CB1584635439_.jpg Kiddo Stuff and Family WizardingWorld.com reveals new Harry Potter at Home hub | Wizarding World The Harry Potter At Home hub is here! A lovingly curated space designed to help you and your family discover the magic of Harry Potter at home…(179 kB Here's The Entire List of Education Companies Offering Free Subscriptions Due to School Closings With schools closing across the nation, parents and educators are in bit of a panic as they try to figure out how kids can learn Scholastic offering free courses for kids at home during coronavirus closures Scholastic says the projects aim to “keep kids reading, thinking, and growing.”(103 kB) PSA: These Educational Apps, Websites, and Activities Are Free to Parents Right Now You don't need to be a teacher or an educator to get access. 12 Art Lessons on YouTube Your Kiddos will Love! - Homeschool Hideout Check out the 12 most thorough and exciting art lessons on YouTube for your budding artists. From sketching to acrylic paints, there's something for all! Audible Stories | Audible.com Free stories for kids of all ages. Audible Stories is a free website where kids of all ages can listen to hundreds of Audible audio titles across six different languages—English, Spanish, French, German, Italian and Japanese—for free, so they can keep learning, dreaming and just being kids.(229 kB) https://m.media-amazon.com/images/G/01/seo/creative/audible-stories-social._CB1584635439_.jpg How to Help Others Focusing on helping those in need is a demonstrated way of helping yourself. Often focusing on others less fortunate can help us feel more in control and provide a sense of agency. JOANN Stores are Handing Out Free Fabric Supplies at Curbside to Anyone Sewing Face Masks at Home JOANN Fabrics is rallying behind America's healthcare workers by donating fabric and materials to anyone who wants to sew masks—with curbside pickup option. For those able to offer services to community members in Oakland: https://localwiki.org/oakland/COVID-19/How_to_Help Community foundations with rapid response funds to support community services across nine Bay Area counties: https://www.siliconvalleycf.org/coronavirus-fund Meals on Wheels San Francisco https://www.mowsf.org/coronavirus Disability Justice Culture Club mutual aid volunteer sign up: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSclWGR5A- rSBTPBTv9UGbCOVjpMKgts0DPP12BZjlUDADhPkw/viewform SFChronicle.com Coronavirus: How you can help Bay Area's most vulnerable Meetings & Support Below are a list of resources compiled that can help you continue your care virtually. Hearted - An Emotional Support Platform Struggling with Social Distancing? Hearted is here to help. We connect you to volunteers to talk about anything you want - you are not alone.(190 kB) Caregivers, Don’t Forget to Care for Yourselves Infectious disease outbreaks can place considerable stress on caregivers U-Haul International College Students U-Haul Offers 30 Days Free Self Storage amid Coronavirus Outbreak | U-Haul Blog Headspace We’re here for you - Headspace There are a lot of unknowns in the world right now. But one thing is certain — Headspace is here for you. To help you, we’re offering some meditations you can listen to anytime. https://www.headspace.com/covid-19 AAONLINEMEETING to participate How to attend AA Online Meeting. English speaking Alcoholics Anonymous meetings held everyday on Skype(28 kB) COVID-19 Resources Coronavirus Relief for Small Businesses: Seven Ways to Get Help Are you a small business owner who has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic? This article offers seven ideas for coronavirus relief for small businesses. Mar 19th(485 kB) Getting Groceries During Quarantine There may be times when you need to limit your trips to the grocery store. Here are some tips to help you make healthful decisions and reduce your trips to the store.(71 kB) The Melt offering free meals to medical personnel SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., (KRON) — With many restaurants reducing operations to stop the spread of the coronavirus, a local Bay Area burger joint is helping medical personnel by offering a free City of Palo Alto, CA - Community Support Bay Area coronavirus tests: Where can I get one? Here is a list of Bay Area locations where testing is available, who can get it, and the conditions that must be met to get tested. Most but not all require a doctor’s order. Reliable Health News and Research on COVID-19 PBH clinician curated news and research on COVID-19 to help separate out the reliable news sources. World Health Organization: Mental Health Considerations related to COVID-19 https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/mental-health-considerations.pdf?sfvrsn=6d3578af_8 American Psychological Association: Social Distancing Research https://www.apa.org/practice/programs/dmhi/research-information/social-distancing CDC Coronavirus Health Information and Updates: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html San Francisco Chronicle Coronavirus Live Tracker: https://projects.sfchronicle.com/2020/coronavirus-map/ Johns Hopkins Live COVID-19 Track Reported Cases Global Map: https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html The Lancet: Clinical course and risk factors for mortality of adult inpatients with COVID-19 in Wuhan, China: a retrospective cohort study https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140- 6736%2820%2930566-3/fulltext#tbl2 |
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