Yahoo News 
10 pregnant women shared their top tips for weathering isolation and loneliness during lockdown
The pandemic has had an impact on everyone, and has left many of us with bouts of anxiety, loneliness and depression. But for pregnant women, the repercussions of Covid-19 and lockdown — with partners unable to attend antenatal and postnatal appointments, long-distance relationships and worry around bringing a newborn into current climate — have been all the more acute.
There has been increased attention to the effects the pandemic has had on new-mums, with a staggering seven in 10 pregnant women revealing they are suffering from extreme loneliness as a result of COVID-19, and over half (55%) admit to be struggling with their mental wellness.
What’s more, over a third (35%) admit to not coping well with feelings of isolation, driven by the fear of going through parts of labour alone and not being able to see family. 1 in 5 expectant mums have only seen their family once or twice since March if at all, and the majority (55%) less than five times. 7 in 10 (70%) have only socialised with friends a couple of times in six months.
In a bid to help combat this, Peanut — an app which aims to connect pregnant women and new mums — has launched a new app feature called Bump Buddies, which enables mums-to-be to connect and build friendships with women who have the same due date, as well as share advice — 8 in 10 (81%) struggled with navigating pregnancy and preparing for birth as a result of in-person meet-ups, such as NCT, being cancelled.
But Peanut is spreading the message that you are not alone, and thousands of other women are experiencing the same emotions and angst behind closed doors all over the country.
The friendship, support and reassurance via the app has already helped many mums-to-be navigate life at the present time, and here, 10 pregnant women have shared their top tips for weathering isolation and loneliness during lockdown.
Here’s what’s keeping them coping:
1. It may be obvious but establishing a daily routine can give you more purpose and help you feel more in control. Set yourself different tasks to make sure every day has a significant beginning, middle and end.
2. It can be hard when your partner is working from home, so it’s important to create a space away from any stress that feels like ‘yours’ and is a calming place you can retreat to when work calls are going on.
3. A fun way to keep busy is with baking. Watch Bake Off and then set yourself the task of taking on a technical challenge or showstopper each week. You’ll satisfy any sweet cravings too.
4. Get out of the four walls of your house and catch some air. Try and explore a new part of your neighbourhood each day. Fresh air is a great remedy for everything.
5. Call a different person everyday. When your baby arrives you’ll find it hard to keep up with friends so take the opportunity to have phone chats with different loved ones.
6. You might not be able to get out and meet women at the same stage of pregnancy as you, but there’s whole community on the Peanut app, and you can connect with women by due date.
7. Get moving. Get endorphins flowing by practicing pregnancy yoga each day. 15 minutes can ease any aches and relax you. It’s a great and easy way to get off the sofa and moving as you only need a mat.
8. Join a virtual book club - there’s loads out there - and reading a good book is a surefire way to escape get wrapped-up in someone else’s dramatic fictional life.
9. Get arty. Creating something is a great way to practice mindfulness and let your brain wander. Pick-up a skill like block printing or calligraphy with a few simple materials.
10. It’s very easy to drift into a negative headspace when you read the news so limit how often you check it and find ways to keep your brain stimulated in uplifting ways, such as meditating or listening to podcasts.
Subscribe to Red now to get the magazine delivered to your door.
Like this article? Sign up to our newsletter to get more articles like this delivered straight to your inbox.
You Might Also Like
