Natural Remedies for Anxiety During Pregnancy
The nature of anxiety during pregnancy can be more challenging to understand than the pain of anxiety in normal times. So many factors are at play with pregnant women that can increase their emotional sensitivity and create anxious patterns.
It is important, first, to understand that anxiety is a mood state that stems from the experience of repressed or unprocessed emotion. Anxiety is not a feeling itself, but rather an adaptation by your nervous system to compensate for the deep well of emotion within you that desires to be seen.
Anxiety can appear in the form of restlessness, overthinking, tension in the body, shakiness, mood swings, inner critic, irritability, hypervigilance, perfectionism, and includes social anxiety – struggling to feel connected to others around you at home, work, or social places. Often, anxiety appears during pregnancy as the mind-body connection awakens, and deeper stored emotions such as fear, shame, even joy and excitement may arise without you having established comfortable pathways to express these emotions.
Other factors that may contribute to an uptick in anxiety include stopping recreational drinking, quitting smoking marijuana, and letting go of other vices that may have masked your anxiety in the past. Recognizing these patterns can support you in remaining compassionate with yourself as you navigate through this state. Anxiety can be healed.
Unfortunately, modern paradigms often recommend pharmaceutical anxiety medications and antidepressants as the only pathway and treatment options. However, new research suggests that taking certain medications is not benign to your baby and can have long-term impacts for you, including habit-forming and difficulty coming off the meds, as well as impacts on the baby’s own gut-brain axis and long-term serotonin and hormone disruption. There are many natural, supportive paths forward that build a healthy toolkit to support your wellbeing for many years to come.
Honoring the Nuance of Anxiety in Pregnancy
One of the most challenging aspects to acknowledge about early pregnancy is the common experience of feeling anxiety over loss or miscarriage. More than ever, women are now sharing their stories about miscarriage and loss, and so understandably, early pregnancy can feel like teetering on the edge of bad news. If you have a history of anxiety, old symptoms of anxiety such as hypervigilance, lack of inner trust, overthinking, and even doom-searching can impact your mental health and will not likely change the outcome of your pregnancy.
The uncomfortable truth
When a woman becomes pregnant, she immediately gazes into one of life’s most mystifying realities, the threshold between birth, life & death. Women are emotionally equipped to explore profound journeys into mysterious realms of birth, life, and death. Yet, our society has left most women ill-equipped to manage the emotional intensity of carrying these truths simultaneously, within her body, in her womb.
The first step is to honor and accept how difficult it can feel to sit in the unknown. Do this by writing it into your journal, expressing to your partner, friend or family how hard it is to fear losing your pregnancy or your baby. Acceptance is the first step.
Next, notice whether you have repeating thoughts or fears, and use strategies such as thought stopping or internal boundaries to shift your thoughts back to the present moment. Thought stopping is when you intentionally stop a thought. For example, if you are having intrusive thoughts about bleeding or about unexpected loss outcomes, try stopping the thought and refocusing on the present moment, whether that is as simple as feeling the sun on your face or your toes wiggle in your socks.
Internal boundary setting involves setting boundaries with yourself to protect your well-being. This could be setting the boundary not to search for loss and miscarriage signs every time you sit on the toilet. This could be an inner mantra or pregnancy affirmations reminding you that even if you do not feel nauseous, you are still safe. Create an environment of inner trust by reminding yourself that no matter what happens, you contain the wisdom and strength to face it.
The Birthing Soul app, a holistic pregnancy and birthing app, guides you through practices to support you in navigating the anxiety of loss in the early weeks and months of postpartum, so that you can honor your truth and hold the strength of a woman who knows that her power and trust in her body is her portal to wellbeing.
Sleep anxiety & burnout
More and more, women are entering into pregnancy in a state of burnout and overwhelm, whether it be from work stress, home responsibilities, years of accumulated trauma, or the weight of living in a world that feels heavier than ever. When you become pregnant, you likely cannot carry the same responsibilities in the same way, and slowing down can feel uncomfortable, even inducing anxiety.
Early pregnancy often demands changes in eating habits, energy levels, and sleep requirements. Honor your body by listening to her wisdom, taking unnecessary things off your plate for this season, and begin practicing slowing down. Here are some strategies to decrease your anxiety as you slow down.
Grounding Your Anxiety Naturally
Ask for support.
If you cannot prepare a meal or even walk through the grocery store due to early food aversions, ask someone to prepare food for you– your partner, neighbor, friends, or family members. Asking for help can be intimidating and requires practice, but it’s important that you willfully allow those discomforts to dissolve, as you will continue to need the support of others as your baby is born and long after.
Balance your blood sugar.
Not getting enough to eat, or not consuming a balanced diet between protein, carbs, fats, and sugars, can create spikes and crashes in your blood sugar, a huge contributor to shakiness and anxiety. If you are feeling overwhelmed, the first step is to reach for a balanced meal that includes 10-20 grams of protein, along with healthy fats, carbohydrates, and sugars to help you feel satiated.
Turn off screens and create bedtime rituals.
Excessive time scrolling on social media or searching the internet both impedes your natural sleep cycles and increases anxiety levels. Set down your phone at least one hour prior to going to sleep. The less screen time you have at night, the more restorative your sleep cycle will become. Create a simple routine —such as a bath or skincare routine, a cup of tea, and 10 minutes of meditation or gratitude journaling — to signal to your body, mind, and soul that it is time to wind down.
If you need support falling asleep, try extending your exhale, a simple breathing exercise that refocuses your thoughts. Begin like this: Breathe in and out, first noticing the speed of your breaths. As you breathe in, notice the length of your inhale, and exhale for longer than you inhaled. When you extend your exhale longer, it signals a deeper sense of rest and safety in the body. Exhale a sigh if that feels good. Count and ensure you have breathed 10 exhales that are longer than your inhales. Repeat until you fall asleep.
Get adequate sunlight each day.
Sunlight naturally signals your energy levels and balances out your hormonal changes, both for you and your baby as they grow. Most modern women are not spending enough time outside, so making sure you get at least 30 minutes to an hour outside each day will support your circadian rhythm and hormonal matrix.
Start by going outside to see the light of the sunrise before looking at your phone. 10-20 minutes of morning light brings energy into your system in a balanced way. Head outside again in the afternoon for 10-20 minutes to receive the highest intensity sunlight of the day.
Finally, take in the sunset light each night for at least 10-20 minutes. Gaze into the sky, allow yourself to become still and present in the moment, and trust that this natural way of aligning to nature will support your heart, your sleep, and your overall wellbeing.
Calm the nervous system with herbal remedies.
Never underestimate the subtle yet profound support that herbs can have on your anxiety. Plant allies, such as herbal teas, essential oils, and herbal supplements, can be incredibly gentle and supportive, and they contain the plant's physical, energetic & spiritual wisdom to nurture you on all levels.
Chamomile
Chamomile is a tender and sweet flower with bitter notes that both soften emotional tension and support digestion. Chamomile relaxes the gut-brain axis, easing tension or anxiety that lives in the belly. It’s especially good for emotional digestion, helping release control, anger, or worry. Chamomile helps release irritability and perfectionism, encouraging trust in life’s flow. It teaches that ease is not weakness, it’s the wisdom of knowing when to soften, which is needed during the season of pregnancy & postpartum. This is a great tea to quickly take the edge off anxious overwhelm and can be safely consumed any time of day or night.
Lemon Balm
Lemon balm is a fantastic form of aromatherapy and supports you by uplifting low moods and easing anxious thoughts. It brightens emotions, bringing sunlight into the nervous system. It is the herb of emotional alchemy, transforming anxiety into laughter and heaviness into movement. Lemon balm radiates gentle optimism. It reminds the body that safety and pleasure can coexist.
Lavender
Both aromatic and supportive for relaxation, lavender clears stagnant or overactive mental energy, easing anxiety, intrusive thoughts, and over-analysis. Lavender helps clear overthinking and supports sleep—great if your anxiety is causing insomnia. It acts as an emotional purifier. Its scent and energy lift grief, melancholy, and energetic residue from the heart and aura while balancing both overstimulation and fatigue, harmonizing yin and yang energies. Lavender holds the vibration of clarity and grace. It invites stillness in the mind so that intuition and peace can rise.
Oatstraw (OUR FAVORITE!)
Oatstraw is a highly nutritive herb to keep on hand throughout pregnancy & into postpartum, as it contains high levels of nourishing minerals (calcium, magnesium, iron, silica, zinc), B vitamins, protein, polysaccharides, and saponins that restore the nervous system and stabilize emotions. Oat straw rebuilds energy over time rather than giving a quick “boost.” It supports deep rest, sustainable vitality, and a sense of safety in the body. Oat straw restores frayed nerves, bringing steadiness after depletion, burnout, or trauma.
Energetically, it helps reopen the emotional heart when stress or grief has closed it. It promotes receptivity, self-compassion, and gentle resilience, especially during times of transition such as during pregnancy & postpartum. It is safe to drink oat straw tea or infusions regularly throughout the perinatal season.
How to use calming herbs
These herbs are gentle enough for long-term use, supportive during pregnancy and postpartum. They can be prepared individually or together. You can prepare a simple cup of tea or try a long infusion. For infusions, steep 1 cup dried herbs in a quart of hot water for 4–8 hours (overnight is best). Drink daily as a mineral-rich tonic. To use herbs for baths or compresses, add to a warm bath for soothing skin and nervous tension. You can also use them as a tincture or glycerite.
Note: Always consult with your midwife, healthcare provider, ob/gyn, or herbalist before use.
Recognizing the root of your emotions
Getting to the heart of your anxiety requires time and attention to any emotional, childhood, or ancestral trauma that you may be carrying. Doing this work requires patience, a willingness to face your pain, and taking action to shift patterns in your life that may keep you feeling stuck.
A great first step is counseling or therapy, which helps you to map out your story, remember repressed material, and begin to make contact with the patterns that have maintained anxiety over time. If you have struggled over time with anxiety or depression, your nervous system may feel accustomed to these states, and when the nervous system gets used to familiar patterns, it can be difficult and unsettling to let go.
Realign your nervous system.
Finding activities and practices that support your nervous system flexibility is critical in the healing process. This can look like getting regular movement, such as going on walks, practicing prenatal yoga, or doing a physical activity of your choice. The nervous system also needs support in getting into the rest-and-digest state, so if you are on alert, use vagus nerve supports such as alternating tapping on each shoulder, listening to a grounding meditation, or engaging in deep breathing and breathwork to balance the nervous system.
Reconnect to your intuition.
In The Birthing Soul app, we guide women to connect deeply with their inner voice so they can begin to discern when fear and anxiety are taking over, versus the quiet inner knowing that whispers their truth. Intuition is the language your baby speaks, and it is the sacred way of charting your path forward. You may choose intuitive guided practices, such as pulling an Oracle or Tarot card, to mirror your energy back to you and increase your intuitive awareness.
Somatic work for emotional regulation.
Somatic practice is the practice of becoming more acquainted with your body and using your senses combined with your mental awareness to heal and tend to emotional wounds, physical symptoms, and even ancestral pain and grief you may have inherited.
Some easy somatic practices you can do at home include shaking: put on a song and shake out every part of your body, jumping up and down, and moving the energy through your body. This is a way of leaning into the intensity of anxiety, rather than resisting it. Afterward, stand still and notice what your anxiety may be telling you. Journal afterward.
Somatic dance is another way to move emotional and thought energy through the body. Put on a song that resonates with you at the moment, close your eyes, and allow your body to move in intuitive ways. You can use these techniques and prenatal yoga practices to show you what anxiety feels like, show you what emotion wants to be felt beneath the anxiety, or just notice your sensations, soften tension, and orient to safety.
Womb-centered somatic practices
Connecting to your womb with both supports you in feeling aware and connected to your pregnancy, and anchors you to the seat of inner feminine knowing. You can begin by placing your hands on your womb, breathing in, and just experiencing connection. You may add movement with gentle, slow rocking back and forth, making spiral movements with your hips in a seated position or kneeling on hands and knees.
Using rhythmic movement can foster a sense of awareness and connection, as well as release any unconscious tension within your body. Breathe into your pelvic bowl to restore grounding and presence.
Trust in your wholeness
Remember, no matter how you are feeling today, you are enough. Anxiety during pregnancy is a wise messenger letting you know that you need deeper supports to feel fully connected to yourself and your baby, to trust the unexpected rhythms of life, to anchor into tools and supports that can hold you, and to illuminate spaces you may need to heal. Trust that if you seek to heal this part of you, during pregnancy & postpartum, that the path will appear.
Learn more about The Birthing Soul, intuitive support through this journey.
Safety note: If anxiety feels unmanageable, you have persistent low mood/anxiety, or you notice thoughts of harming yourself or someone else, contact your OB/midwife, medical professional, or a local crisis line right away. You deserve timely care and steady support.