After thorough planning, congrats! You and your spouse are finally expecting a baby. Not everyone has a chance to experience pregnancy. It is an exciting and joyful moment that many couples wish to share. However, it can also be stressful.
Your pregnant partner will most likely experience a roller coaster of feelings and emotions. On top of that, she will have to go through drastic physical changes in her body as the baby grows bigger. And for her, that is hard to deal with.
So what can you do to make this pregnancy easier for her? As a partner, you have an essential role while she’s pregnant and until after the baby arrives. This article will teach you to be supportive, so your partner won’t feel alone.
Why Do You Need to Be Supportive?
Pregnancy is teamwork. You cannot just let your partner go through it alone. Society now expects a pregnant woman’s spouse or partner to be more engaged in the whole ordeal than ever before. This means that you need to make adjustments to give your partner a comfortable space.
You might not be the one to give birth to the baby, but there are other ways for you to be involved. What’s great about being involved in the pregnancy is that it promotes positive effects on your relationship with your partner and her overall health while she’s pregnant.
Expectant mothers tend to get highly stressed during pregnancy, impacting their physical and mental health. And according to research, the stress that pregnant women feel directly affects the baby’s health, so they must receive utmost care and support.
Related: 4 Things You Need to Know About Exercising During Pregnancy
How to Be Supportive
If this is your first child, try to learn as much about how pregnancy affects women. Read books about the changes you need to expect for each trimester. For instance, most pregnant women are typically exhausted during their first and third trimesters, but they have more energy in the second trimester.
Whether it’s your first or third child, you can offer support in these ways:
- Driving her to her regular checkups
- Helping her make decisions about prenatal tests
- Attending childbirth classes with her
- Enrolling together in a relationship coaching online to strengthen your bond
But there are other ways to support your partner. Read more below.
Emotional Support
Here are a few ways you can support your partner emotionally:
- Always ask if she needs anything from you.
- Be affectionate. Hug her often and hold her hands all the time.
- Encourage and reassure her that you’re there all the way.
- Help her adjust to her new lifestyle. For instance, you might need to give up alcohol and coffee to show her that you are in this together.
- Prepare healthy meals for her. Eat fruits together and don’t shop for junk foods.
- Remind her when it’s time to rest or take naps. The changes in her hormones can make her feel less energetic, thus requiring frequent naps or breaks.
- Don’t be pushy when she isn’t interested in having sex. She might not feel comfortable yet with her growing body. Talk to her about these things and be understanding.
- Go on walks with her.
Physical Support
A pregnant woman might feel several discomforts during her second to the third trimester. Back pain and feeling sick are pretty normal, so make sure to assist her when she feels discomfort. You can do this by doing the following:
- Help with house chores. You can volunteer to cook as she might find it hard to stand for a long time. Besides, some smells in the kitchen might make her feel sick to her stomach.
- Do not smoke around her. Go outside of the house and wash your hands before approaching her. She might not like the smell of the smoke.
- Give an intimate touch. Give her foot and back massages as often as you can. This can reduce her stress and make her feel better.
After Giving Birth
Your role does not end once the baby arrives. In fact, it gets even bigger. Here are ways you can be your wife’s rock:
- Help your partner whenever she’s changing the baby’s diaper or bathing it.
- If you have older kids, you might want to handle them on your own while your partner is recovering from giving birth.
- Give the new mom time for herself to rest and enjoy other activities.
Last but not least, give yourself some time to adjust. The new mom might need it more than you do, but you need to take care of yourself too. Don’t feel as if everyone is ignoring you because everybody focuses on the mom and the baby. Many people think that way. However, you need to be stronger now more than ever.