How To Support A Loved One Who’s Newly Pregnant
Pregnancy is hard to get through alone. At the very least, you’re going to be more tired than usual – growing another person inside, which can zap all your energy away! And that’s why support nets are so crucial. And if you know someone who will have a baby in a few months, you should consider reaching out to help.
Whether you’re a best friend, a sister or cousin, or their partner, you will want to support them through this turbulent time in life. Pregnancy can be hell on the body, and you want them to feel as good and happy as possible! And when you do things like the ideas listed below, you will go the extra mile to be there for your loved one. It might not seem like it, but smooth pregnancies are possible, and often it’s all about how well a person is taken care of.
Help Around the House
Doing housework every once in a while is no hard thing if you’ve got a free weekend or a couple of days off. And when someone is pregnant, keeping up with ‘chores’ gets harder and harder as the weeks go on! If you can offer to put the vacuum around, change the bed, or wash the dishes for them, they’ll be incredibly grateful!
You probably already do your fair share of cleaning up as a partner. But you may have to dig in a little more while they’re unable to do theirs. As a friend or relative, this is a lovely gesture to make and will help them to feel healthier and happy during those hard baby-bump-related times.
Be Practical When They Can’t Be
Being practical is all about approaching situations with rational thoughts and not letting emotions get in the way. And when you’re pregnant, that can be a little difficult! It’s not impossible, but having a tiny human press down on your bladder at all times and eating all the food you need to eat can make a person cranky.
So put your two cents in where you can, and make sure the advice you give is useful. Read up on pregnancy and baby development, and do plenty of research into the issues brought up. For example, any birthing manual worth its salt defines negligence as something preventable happening during childbirth. If this is something your friend or partner has come to tears over before, this is your chance to be practical and help out.
Go to Appointments Together
Going to an appointment with someone who’s pregnant is one of the best ways to support them. Being there to hold their hand as they discover something about their baby, or need to undergo an invasive test, will help keep them from being overwhelmed by anxiety. As a partner, this is a natural thing, but it’s also something you can do as a friend too.
If you’re a friend and they’re a single parent, ask them if they need any support when heading out to crucial appointments. Most of the time, they’ll have already planned something, but you’ll never know if they were thinking of going alone and were nervous about it.
Putting that question out there, even if it seems a little inappropriate, can give them a much-needed safety net in a time when they’re already on edge. All it takes is a little courage!
Take Their Problems Seriously
Similar to what we said above, pregnancy can cause a mess of your hormones, and that can make you react in bigger ways than you would to both big and small problems alike. In these moments, it’s up to you to react with the same compassion and understanding as you would if they weren’t pregnant.
Don’t dismiss anything. Talk through every little thing with them to get to the root cause, and then be honest about whether or not the issue is serious or simply a small inconvenience. But first, listen. Listening is the best thing you can do when someone is feeling vulnerable, and doing so will really help you to be there for them.
Going through pregnancy is tough, even when you want to be pregnant! So do your best to be there for someone who’s about to push another human being out – they’ll love you forever, and you’ll always be on the Christmas card list! It just takes some thought and a little action, so get inspired.
