New Delhi: Pregnancy is an extension of a woman's healthy well-being. Emphasis should be on being healthy physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. Modern times with its fast pace of life and all the advancements, with its belief and dependency on shortcuts and quick fixes, add to the mental stress in pregnancy, which negatively affects both the mother and the pregnancy outcome.

Let us take a step back and revisit the healthier way of improving mental health, which directly affects the pregnancy progress.

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Meditation

Neuroscientific studies have proven that meditation of any form helps pregnant women keep their stress down and their spirits up. It helps cultivate attention and awareness and reduces anxiety and negative feelings like hostility, depression, stress, and anxiety. They experience stronger and more frequent positive feelings such as enjoyment, gratitude, and hope.

Yoga and exercise

Yoga reduces tension and anxiety, helps regulate blood pressure and deeply relaxes every cell in the body, calms and relaxes the mind, maintains the body temperature and enhances the oxygen supply, which helps with the baby's growth. Exercise helps maintain a balanced weight, blood pressure and sugars making the pregnancy healthier and the journey easier.

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Nutrition

The right kind of natural food, including antioxidants and micronutrients, plays a very important role in managing one's mental and emotional balance and responses. A healthy diet reduces the possibility of miscarriage, preeclampsia and IUGR and asthma exacerbations.

Music therapy and hobbies

Listening to music can calm your mind and uplift your mood, which in turn helps lower your stress and anxiety. It can improve sleep quality and prenatal anxiety, reduce depression during pregnancy and stress. It has a calming and relaxing effect and can lower both the heart rate and blood pressure.

Reiki

Reiki is a Japanese touch therapy that can promote healing. It operates on the belief that everything in the universe is made up of energy, and this life force energy flows around us and through us nourishing our cells, organs, and glands. In addition to deep relaxation, Reiki can promote a reduction in muscle tension and pain.

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