{"id":21701,"date":"2023-08-24T01:59:53","date_gmt":"2023-08-23T23:59:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.intimina.com\/blog\/?p=21701"},"modified":"2023-08-24T02:38:36","modified_gmt":"2023-08-24T00:38:36","slug":"emotional-changes-before-labor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.intimina.com\/blog\/emotional-changes-before-labor\/","title":{"rendered":"Emotional Changes Close to Labor"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bringing a baby into this world involves a whole lot of work and changes. During pregnancy, your body stretches and grows to capacities you didn\u2019t know it was capable of, you might have changes in your skin, nipples, feet, and basically every other part of you.<\/span><\/p>\n

Your body isn\u2019t the only thing that changes during pregnancy, your whole life and identity are about to change \u2013\u00a0even if you\u2019ve been through this before. This anticipation can bring up a lot of emotions, especially as you approach labor. What sort of emotional changes are normal before giving birth \u2013 and how do you deal with them?<\/span><\/p>\n

Hormonal Changes and Your Emotions<\/b>
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You experience <\/span>a hormonal shift towards the end of pregnancy<\/span><\/a> that helps your body to prepare for labor. As labor approaches, estrogen levels begin to increase to help activate the uterus. Oxytocin and prostaglandin levels also rise which are essential for facilitating labor and encouraging the cervix to dilate and soften.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

These hormones start to cause changes to your sleep patterns, uterus, cervix, and even encourage your baby to begin dropping lower down into your pelvis. They can also impact your emotions. Hormonal changes in early labor can cause mood swings, anxiety, irritability, and more.<\/span><\/p>\n

Even if they\u2019re partially because of hormones, whatever emotions you\u2019re feeling are valid. You also may have a planned cesarian section and aren\u2019t physiologically starting early labor but are still feeling the build-up of what\u2019s to come.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Normal Emotions at the End of Pregnancy<\/b><\/h2>\n

You\u2019ve been pregnant a long time. In the almost year that you\u2019ve been growing a baby, you\u2019ve experienced a whole lot of changes. It may be tiring to go about your normal activities, or your bandwidth is getting smaller and smaller.<\/span><\/p>\n

Some normal emotions that may come up toward the end of pregnancy are:<\/span><\/p>\n