There are certain symptoms of pregnancy that are simply classic. Morning sickness, sore breasts, frequent urination and fatigue are all hallmark indications that you are expecting. But there is another symptom of pregnancy that is equally common: worrying.
Worry is one symptom you won’t get, however, until you already know you’re pregnant. Once it hits, it hits hard. For the remainder of your pregnancy you find yourself worrying about everything from how much weight you are gaining to how much the baby is moving. Surfing the internet can make a pregnant woman crazy with all the stories of diseases, birth defects, and complications. Unfortunately, the negative always gets blown way out of proportion, especially on topics of health. Here are some statistics to ease your mind.
Usually, a woman’s biggest worry during pregnancy is loss of the baby. Each year there are over four million live births. There are nearly two million pregnancy losses. Before you get too worried, realize that 1.2 million of those losses are through abortion. Only 600,000 of those losses are a result of miscarriage (10% of pregnancies) and 26,000 are from stillbirth (less than half percent).
If you are worried about your baby having birth defects, know that only about two and a half percent of all pregnancies result in a child with birth defects. The number of babies born prematurely is less than eight percent of all pregnancies. Only about fifteen percent of women experience complications during pregnancy.
Don’t focus on these small percentages, rather focus on what they imply: most pregnancies have no complications and result in a healthy baby. Besides, worrying will do absolutely nothing to help. In fact, worrying may hurt you by raising your stress levels, which is not good for you or your baby. So relax… and enjoy your pregnancy.