Anxious? There’s a Website For That.

The best thing about pregnancy is that eventually it ends and you resolve to never, ever let a boy touch you again. The worst thing, aside from the weird new body hair and the crying, is the worrying. Every time I’d open up “What to Expect When You’re Expecting” the book would automatically flip itself to Chapter 23: Coping With Pregnancy Loss. So you can imagine where my head went with that.

It’s such a magical time.

So magical.

But anxiety can be overwhelming, and while it’s perfectly normal it certainly doesn’t feel that way. And pregnancy already makes you feel enough things! (I ugly-cried the day the McDonald’s closest to my apartment stopped selling milkshakes, and that was only a mildly emotional day.) Which is why the good people over at AnxietyBC have put together a brand new site for anxious moms.

According to AnxietyBC’s new perinatal site, expectant and new mothers often have many questions and worries about motherhood. Some things that a woman might be thinking are:

• Will my baby have birth defects?
• Will I have a miscarriage?
• How will I cope with the pain of labour?
• What if I can’t have the birth that I want?
• What will my partner think of me during and after labour?
• Will I be a good parent?
• Will the baby change my relationship with my partner?
• How will my child cope with a new baby coming home?
• Can we financially afford this baby?

Some additional worries I had:

• What if the baby has dangerously long fingernails?
• What if I am murdered at night in the alley behind my building by black-market baby traders who want to sell my fetus?
• Who will marry me and help me raise the child if Spouse dies before the baby is old enough to take care of me?
• What if I can’t get to the hospital in time to receive an epidural?
• What if I am not actually pregnant and this is a hideous, pulsating tumour?

The site is designed to help you better understand and cope with anxiety during and after pregnancy. Why deal with those complicated feelings alone? AnxietyBC’s perinatal site is written by four moms and mental health professionals who’ve been there; it’s easy to navigate, friendly and accessible. Find the info and advice you need to get through your rough patches, and learn the difference between mild anxiety and a problem you should take to your physician.

And if you find yourself bawling on the floor of your apartment because that Eminem video where he killed his cheating girlfriend made you feel like you really, finally understand the power of love, just know that’s perfectly normal and you’ll come out of this okay.