We redesign maternity care from the ground up

The period of pregnancy for women is a time of great transformation and alteration of their bodies and psychological identity. The woman has only seven months, if we consider that the first two cannot be taken into account because the woman is generally not aware of her condition, so she can adapt to all the changes during the pregnancy period.

This period, along with childbirth and postpartum is an engaging, exciting and rewarding state, but also a time of anxiety and worry. (1) There tends to be an increase in anxiety in the first and third trimesters as, on the one hand, one experiences the adjustment to pregnancy and the changing situation it entails, and on the other hand, one prepares for caregiving. During gestation there are amplified body sensations, heightened emotionality, decreased memory and difficulty concentrating, and increased sensitivity to the environment and surrounding stimuli. (2)
In the last weeks and postpartum, there is a high level of sensitivity to your state and to the infant, towards whom you want to ensure care and protection.

Lack of attention is a crucial element in pregnancy, and possible trauma may emerge in the form of coping strategies, some of which may result in mental disorders, with cases of depression being an example. (3)

What does depression mean? Pushing something down, feeling something inside and trying to push it down. What is being pushed down are emotions. If the people one relies on at such an important time cannot handle the fear, pain, and worry that the woman might feel, then to fit properly within the professional dynamics in the role of the patient, one is inclined at first to repress these feelings, even not consciously, but as an automatic adaptation, and then to result in depressive consequences. Depression, then is a response to one or more wounds received, the wound of not being seen, heard, or protected.

To traumatize a person you can do it with negative actions, but to hurt them you can also simply not give them the good things they need.

From the time the child is in the womb, through the mother it receives the influence of the family, however, behind the family is the society, behind the family is the country, behind the country is the world economy, and the force that sustains all this. The family encapsulates everything and affects the child from the time it is in the womb.

Even today, the importance of experience-related variables, called epigenetic variables, in modulating gene expression is still underestimated, because the idea of genetic determinism, which consists of an almost total determination of characteristics by genetic information, remains very strong. However, more and more studies are highlighting the prominent role of the influence between genes and environment in a person’s development. (4) You can change your body, your sexual gender, but if you do not feel loved and wanted already during pregnancy, can you be surprised if you are born with an inability to love on you?

Pregnancy is a crucial time: all the events that occur during the nine months and all the emotions, positive or negative, experienced by the woman can affect the physical and psychological health of the baby. The changes a woman undergoes are not only functional for the formation of the embryo and fetus but are also especially emotional.
Thus, if the mother has a conscious or unconscious fear, if she suffers from a state of anxiety, if a tragic event happens to her, or if she leads a stressful life, all this information may later produce a series of negative consequences for the woman and dysfunctions in the child, establishing behavioral patterns that may persist. (5)

Imagine that the baby is a blank sheet of paper and that the choices you make during pregnancy will depend on the texts and colors that will fill this sheet, for better or worse.

Therefore, emotional support, listening, solidarity and companionship for the woman about to become a mother is essential. It is especially at this time that the woman must have more points of support that will enable her to avoid an emotional breakdown in times of difficulty and confusion. (6)

The health of the mother significantly affects the health and development of her children. In addition, high levels of stress and anxiety during childbirth may be associated with premature births, miscarriages, an increased likelihood of complications such as preeclampsia, increased difficulty in the second stage of labor, increased instrumentation in childbirth, and increased cesarean delivery.

Childbirth is a neurohormonal event that involves a constant dialogue between the mother’s brain and the baby’s brain. Dr. Sandra Ortega, a gynecologist at Vithas Rey Don Jaime Hospital in Castellon, Spain, argues that acute maternal stress in pregnancy alters the physiological environment of the uterus, increasing the risk of low birth weight and smaller head circumference, altering metabolic development, and impairing the infant’s immune and neuroendocrine function. Similarly, anxiety levels during gestation are linked to higher rates of postpartum depression and problems connecting with the baby. This happens because maternal stress increases cortisol, the hormone associated with an increased risk of cognitive and behavioral problems in childhood, such as ADHD, a deficit in language development, and an increased risk of autism, anxiety, and schizophrenia in adulthood. The release of cortisol and adrenaline is felt by the baby in stressful situations, but the same can be true in happy conditions, in which serotonin levels increase and can cross the placenta.

The psychological sphere of the pregnant woman is just as important as the physical one, although it is still often overlooked

It is necessary to take care of sleep, nutrition, exercise and avoid situations that generate emotional instability. After all, these are generic and fundamental areas that point to greater mental and physical well-being at every stage of a person’s life. A fortiori, therefore, such aspects acquire an even more important connotation by the state of pregnancy, both for the woman and for the fetus.

Very often, this status is used as a motivation to limit or give up altogether the satisfaction of these needs, which appear as secondary to the primary need to focus exclusively on gestation, in a form of waiting that is as static as possible to avert any risk or danger. But as we have seen, this is a risky mistake, because, on the contrary, we need to start precisely from a greater focus on the other pivotal factors that need to reach optimal levels if we aim to put pregnancy at the center as an important moment of a woman’s transformation.

Being pregnant does not mean being sick

It is important to enjoy this process, with the responsibility it deserves, taking care of yourself, physically and emotionally, eating well, getting enough rest and exercising based on your new circumstances.

It is essential, therefore, to provide comprehensive and multidisciplinary care for the woman, mother, and newborn. At Sequoia Red we are working to offer you a network of professionals who specialize in pregnant women’s health, including both medical and wellness services, with a hybrid model that is based on the interconnection of physical, mental and emotional well-being. From gynecologists to midwives to counseling, to exercise assistance, to nutritional assistance, to sexual assistance, to newborn care, to assistance for all domestic, woman and family care services. Healthy mother-child interaction goes through all of these areas and is essential for healthy child and adult development.

With childbirth comes the transition from being a daughter to being a mother, with the assumption of new roles and responsibilities.

The woman, who always moves in a whirlwind of emotions and discoveries, now adds new expectations from family and society as well, with an even more shocking physical transformation and a new life-given birth.

It is right for every woman to be recognized in her small or large chaos, without being compared with others, with dignity and respect for her journey.

Therefore, we want to help women understand and meet their basic needs during pregnancy so that every woman feels seen, heard, understood and protected.

Let us help you in this process.