Learning to relax

Being wound up all the time is miserable, and that is reason enough to do something about it. But let's clear up the scary version first, because you have certainly been told it: stress does not cause premature labor. It does not wrap the cord around your baby. A rotten week at work has never harmed a pregnancy, and Braxton-Hicks contractions come and go on their own schedule whatever your mood. What stress does do is leave you tense, sore and sleeping badly — which is quite enough on its own. What to do? Let's learn to relax.