March Updates

To all our mamas and friends!

Happy International Women's Day from your team at Previa Alliance!

Spring starts in just a few weeks! Hopefully, you'll find ways to take advantage of the longer and warmer days. As Spring is also the month of new beginnings, we're starting a new initiative to help all of you moms stay mentally fit by participating in a monthly self-care challenge. Here is this month's challenge.

Walk off Anxiety
Research reports (and our personal experience confirms) that 1 in 5 moms experience anxiety during pregnancy and postpartum. Often silent and constant, anxiety is a very real struggle for many of us.

Anxiety comes from the part of our brain called the amygdala. The amygdala is responsible for making decisions and is a mono-tasker (it only does one thing at a time). This is why when you have anxiety it feels hard to make decisions and when there are too many decisions to be made it can give us anxiety. So, how can you break this cycle?

Walking has been shown to shut down the anxiety mechanism and give our brains a break! In several studies, people who walked outside for an hour each day had much lower stress levels than those who didn't!

Your March Challenge

Take at least a 10-minute walk every day (outside in the fresh air is best, but any walking is better than no walking!)
Before starting your walk, note how you feel: sad, angry, stressed, tired, fine, etc.
During your walk, notice your surroundings. If outside, what flowers or birds do you notice? Is the wind blowing? How bright is the sun? If walking inside, take deep breaths to fill your lungs, then slowly exhale and let your shoulders relax. The goal is to practice breathing and being present in the moment. This is not the time to plan your grocery list!
After your walk, check back in with yourself and notice how your body feels, how your mind is feeling, and the thoughts you have.

That's it! Your goal is to walk 10 minutes every day this month. Consider doing a screening update before you start this walking challenge and then do another screening at the end of the month. All things being equal, you may see a slight reduction in your score as you actively focus on reducing anxiety and stress this month.

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