Navigating Anxiety During Pregnancy: Understanding and Managing Your Emotions
- Emmanuel Uribe
- Jul 23
- 7 min read
Updated: Aug 21
Pregnancy is often painted as a time of glowing skin, adorable bump pics, and planning for baby. But let’s be honest—for many women, it’s also a time of uncertainty, hormonal chaos, and one very unwelcome—albeit familiar—companion: anxiety.
While anxiety is a normal part of life, it can take on new forms (and intensity) during pregnancy—especially when your go-to stress relievers are off the table.
What Exactly Is Anxiety?
Anxiety is your body’s alarm system. It manifests as restlessness, rapid breathing, racing thoughts, or muscle tension. This heightened state of awareness is designed to protect you but can become overactive during pregnancy.
The Brain’s Regulator and Its Team
Think of your brain as a ship’s captain:
Brain Part | Role in Anxiety | Analogy |
Amygdala | Main regulator—detects threats, triggers stress responses. | Captain scanning radar |
Prefrontal Cortex | Executive officer—evaluates threat and sends “stand down” | Navigator consulting maps |
Hippocampus | Memory keeper—adds context to alarms | Logbook referencing past voyages |
The amygdala sends alarm signals, cortisol and adrenaline flood the body, and physical symptoms appear. The prefrontal cortex reviews the signal and decides if the alarm is false. Meanwhile, the hippocampus provides context—remembering if you’ve been in this situation before. Though pregnancy hormones may muddy the decision-making, the analogy holds: your brain is adaptable, not broken.
Behind the Scenes: What Science Shows
Recent neuroscience offers a clear picture of what’s happening under the hood during anxiety—especially when pregnant. Two regions of the brain are key players:
Figure 1: Recent research shows how the dentate gyrus plays a crucial role in filtering fear and anxiety responses. When stress disrupts its function, anxiety can intensify.
[Adapted from Wheeler et al., 2021, Figure 1]
Figure 2: The ventral hippocampus sends signals to other emotional brain regions, like the amygdala and prefrontal cortex. If this pathway becomes overactive, it can lead to chronic anxiety.
[Adapted from Wheeler et al., 2021, Figure 2]
1. Dentate Gyrus: Your Brain’s Threat Filter
This part of the hippocampus helps sort out whether something is truly threatening or just a false alarm. When the dentate gyrus is dysregulated—like during stress or hormone shifts—your brain may process everything as dangerous, even if it’s not. This is how anxiety gets amplified.
As shown in Figure 1, stress and fear learning can reduce the calming signals (like GABA) and affect how your dentate gyrus processes incoming information. This leads to changes in contextual fear—one reason small worries can feel overwhelming during pregnancy (Wheeler et al., 2021).
2. Hippocampus & Emotional Brain Circuitry
The hippocampus also sends messages to key emotional centers—like the amygdala, hypothalamus, and prefrontal cortex—modulating your stress response.
As shown in Figure 2, if this communication system becomes hyperactive—often due to stress or hormonal changes—it can make these pathways more sensitive, contributing to persistent anxiety. This is especially true in pregnancy, when cortisol levels naturally rise (Wheeler et al., 2021).
Hormones: Co-Captains on the Bridge
Pregnancy brings elevated progesterone and cortisol. Progesterone can increase emotional sensitivity by changing how the amygdala responds to stress. Meanwhile, higher cortisol levels—especially if chronic—can ramp up anxiety, disturb sleep, and even weaken the regulation skills of your prefrontal cortex. These effects are temporary but noticeable, especially when you’re already navigating new physical and emotional terrain.
Pregnancy: Your Opportunity for Resilience Training
With some usual supports off the table perinatally—including alcohol, cannabis, caffeine, certain sleep aids, and SSRIs (unless medically advised)—pregnancy becomes prime time to rewrite your stress response with healthier tools—parasympathetic tools.
Parasympathetic Power Tools
Activating the parasympathetic system (“rest-and-digest”) directly affects the brain regions seen in the figures above—calming your captain and crew. Here are the ways we do it:
1. Meditation
Meditation doesn’t require incense or enlightenment. It’s just focused attention—on your breath, on your baby, or on something simple like sound. Studies show that regular mindfulness practices during pregnancy can meaningfully reduce anxiety and improve mood (Lever Taylor et al.).
2. Breath-work
Deep, slow breathing helps your body tap into the vagus nerve, a key switch for turning off the stress response. Bonus: this stimulation also boosts GABA, your brain’s main calming neurotransmitter (Bonaz et al.). Think of it as hitting the brakes on spiraling thoughts—and yes, this is the same “take a deep breath” advice your mom gave you at 9, now backed by science.
3. Gentle Prenatal Yoga
Yoga helps reduce tension and calm the mind, all while gently moving your changing body. In pregnant women, studies consistently show it reduces anxiety, likely through a mix of physical release and mental centering (Ningrum et al.). Added perk? It can help prepare your body for labor.
4. Nature Walks
Getting outdoors, even for 15 minutes, has been shown to lower cortisol levels and improve emotional balance. The combination of sunlight, movement, and natural beauty helps ground the nervous system—especially when you pair it with mindful breathing (Twohig-Bennett & Jones).
5. Music & Sound Therapy
Music works on a primal level—it can slow your heartbeat, lower blood pressure, and reduce cortisol. Listening to soothing tracks like lullabies or soft piano can activate your parasympathetic system, even during a bout of anxiety. Better yet, playing or singing music engages the whole brain. Rhythm and melody stimulate both emotion and memory centers, bringing you into the moment and helping regulate your body’s stress response (van Puyvelde et al.). Come by *Reeds In the Wind if you’d like an approachable music experience to get you started
6. Journaling
No need to be a poet—just grab a notebook and brain-dump. Writing down worries, even in bullet points, helps the hippocampus file away emotional stress more accurately and gives the prefrontal cortex room to analyze and problem-solve. Think of it as spring cleaning for your mind. Over time, expressive writing builds emotional resilience, which can carry over into labor and postpartum transitions (Smyth & Pennebaker).
7. Digital Hygiene & Sleep Rituals
When you lower screen time at night—yes, even TikTok!—you give your brain a chance to wind down naturally. Blue light suppresses melatonin, and overstimulation keeps cortisol hanging around. A wind-down routine (bath, soft music, light stretching) helps reestablish your circadian rhythm, a simple but powerful way to reduce anxiety and support restorative sleep. Take it as an opportunity to start practicing that familiar phrase for your eventual toddler: “It’s bedtime!”
8. Quality Time with Loved Ones
Connecting with supportive people boosts oxytocin and helps calm the nervous system. Whether it’s a phone call with a friend or laughing with your partner, research shows strong social bonds buffer against anxiety by increasing vagal tone and decreasing cortisol (Ross et al.). This isn’t just “feel good” stuff—it’s nervous system medicine.
Brain Rewiring Happens
Consistent use of these tools strengthens the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus, calms the amygdala, and reduces cortisol. This is real nervous system medicine—assuring your ship always finds its way safely to shore.
Final Thoughts
Anxiety during pregnancy isn’t a flaw—it’s biology. And biology can be shaped. With daily discipline and emotional care, you can rewire your stress circuits. That becomes not just your superpower, but part of the profound legacy you impart on to your child.
Homework
Choose one parasympathetic habit from the list—meditation, breath-work, yoga, journal writing, nature walks, music time, bedtime routine, or spending quality time with a loved one—and practice it daily for five days. Extra credit to anyone who journals their emotional shifts!
Need tailored support? Our team at Espire Wellness is here for you.
Works Cited
Bonaz, B., Sinniger, V., & Pellissier, S. (2016). The vagus nerve in the neuro-immune axis: implications in the pathology of inflammation. Journal of Neuroinflammation, 13(1), 1–10.
Davis, K., Goodman, S. H., Leiferman, J., Taylor, M., & Dimidjian, S. (2015). Yoga for pregnant women with symptoms of depression and anxiety. Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice, 21(3), 166–172.
Lever Taylor, B., Cavanagh, K., & Strauss, C. (2016). The effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions in the perinatal period: a systematic review and meta-analysis. PLOS ONE, 11(5), e0155720.
Ningrum, S. A., Budihastuti, U. R., & Prasetya, H. (2019). Efficacy of yoga exercise to reduce anxiety in pregnancy: A meta-analysis using randomized controlled trials. Journal of Maternal and Child Health, 4(2), 118–125.
Ross, E., et al. (2023). Social support and vagal tone in stress buffering: a systematic review. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 17, Article 1094039.
Smyth, J. M., & Pennebaker, J. W. (2008). Exploring the boundary conditions of expressive writing: In search of the right recipe. British Journal of Health Psychology, 13(1), 1–7.
Streeter, C. C., et al. (2011). Effects of yoga versus walking on mood, anxiety, and brain GABA levels: a randomized controlled MRS study. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 17(11), 985–995.
Twohig-Bennett, C., & Jones, A. (2018). The health benefits of the great outdoors: A systematic review and meta-analysis of greenspace exposure and health outcomes. Environmental Research, 166, 628–637.
van Puyvelde, M., Loots, G., Meys, J., Neyt, X., Mairesse, O., & Simcock, D. (2019). The neurobiological effects of music interventions during pregnancy: A systematic review. Infant Behavior and Development, 57, 101385.
Wheeler, A. L., et al. (2021). Linking dentate gyrus and hippocampal CA1 activity to anxiety. Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience, 21, 1097–1121. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13415-021-00973-y
Helpful Resources for Managing Anxiety During Pregnancy
Meditation
Insight Timer – Pregnancy Meditations
Mindful.org – How to Meditate
Breathwork
Web MD– Box Breathing
Healthline – Vagus Nerve Stimulation
Yoga & Movement
Prenatal Yoga with Adriene (YouTube)
American Pregnancy Association – Prenatal Yoga Guide
Nature & Light
APA – Nature’s Role in Reducing Stress
Music Therapy
Spotify – Pregnancy Relaxation Playlist
Journaling
PositivePsychology – Benefits of Journaling
Sleep & Screen Time
Sleep Foundation – Sleep Tips for Pregnancy
Harvard Health – Blue Light and Sleep
Sleep Foundation – Building a Bedtime Routine
Support Systems & Social Connection
Postpartum Support International – Find a Support Group
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