Permission to rest

Many people feel more tired during pregnancy, especially at the start and towards the end. It is easy to keep going as if nothing has changed. Giving yourself permission to rest, planned and without guilt, is a small kindness to yourself.

The steps

Four small steps,in your own time.

Look at your week and find two or three short times when you could sit or lie down, even for fifteen minutes.
Put them in your calendar as you would any appointment.
Make a list of jobs that can wait, be done less often or be handed to someone else, and let them go for now.
When someone offers help, accept one specific thing: a meal, a lift, the shopping, the laundry.

The reason

Why it helps

Rest is easier to take when it is planned rather than snatched. Letting some jobs go and accepting help frees up energy for what matters. Talking to your midwife about how tired you feel means they can check whether anything else is going on.

A gentle variation

If you work, ask whether you can take short breaks or sit down more; an official advice service can tell you what support applies where you live. If you already care for children or someone else, swap one caring task with another adult once a week, so you get a real break.

Permission to rest

Four small steps,in your own time.

Why it helps

A gentle variation

Try itwith someone.

Try it today

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