What can you do against restlessness during pregnancy?
The treatment of restlessness depends, among other things, on what the causes are. First and foremost, the triggers must be eliminated. If no cause is known, which also happens very often, general measures can be taken to treat both restlessness and insomnia.
It is important to pay attention to so-called sleep hygiene. This includes a regular sleep-wake rhythm. Constantly changing bedtime should be avoided.
Nothing should be eaten shortly before going to bed. Watching TV until shortly before going to bed should also be avoided if you have insomnia. It can be helpful to get used to rituals.
For example, taking a regular walk before going to bed can bring a calm to the sleep rhythm and thus successfully eliminate both restlessness and insomnia. If you wake up regularly during the night, you should not force yourself to fall asleep again but also not get up. You can also try to read a book, for example, to regain the necessary weight in bed.
Relaxation exercises, such as yoga, can also help to calm you down during the day and at night, making the nights more pleasant. In addition to these general measures, there are also some drug treatment strategies, but not all of them are applicable for pregnant women due to the possible side effects. Valerian preparations in the form of capsules are often used for restlessness and insomnia.
There are numerous combination preparations that contain this mostly very effective herbal ingredient. Sometimes valerian preparations are also combined with hops or lavender, which can further enhance the calming and sleep-inducing effect. Sufficient studies on the use of these preparations in pregnancy have not yet been conducted.
However, some bacterial tests have shown a damaging effect of valerian root in the first stage of pregnancy. Therefore, drugs containing valerian should rather not be given in the first trimester. If the herbal preparations are of no use, if no obvious cause of the symptoms can be found and if the restlessness and insomnia persist, it should be considered to start a drug treatment with a short-term sleeping pill and sedative.
In this case, however, the gynecologist or a psychiatrist should weigh up the risks carefully. There are also some homeopathic approaches to treat restlessness and insomnia. A treatment with homeopathic preparations can be carried out without hesitation.
However, the effect has not been proven. The basis of every homeopathic treatment is the exact description of the symptoms. Thus, restlessness and insomnia should be classified more precisely in their occurrence before a suitable homeopathic medication can be found and applied.
The preparation Aconitum can be used for accompanying anxiety dreams. In the case of anxiety, which also puts a lot of strain on the pregnant woman during the day, treatment with Arsenicum album should be carried out. If, after long periods of insomnia, fatigue occurs that lasts throughout the day, treatment with Arnica can be attempted.
A particularly restless sleep can be tried to be treated with the homeopathic remedy belladonna. If you are very tired and still have insomnia, Chamomilla can also be used. The preparation Damiana is mainly used for general restlessness and undirected sleep disorders.
