What Do Dreams About Being Pregnant Mean? 4 Interpretations

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Women Dreaming About Pregnancy

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Dream analysis is a technique used to reveal underlying motivations and interpret the symbolic representations of dreams. If you have recurring dreams about being pregnant, you should patiently assess what’s occurring in your life or what your desires are.

Pregnancy means to nurture a new life inside you, which may symbolize creation or a new beginning apart from the desire to have children. However, dreams can have interpretations completely different from what you presume. Keep reading this post as we have put together some meaningful interpretations of pregnancy dreams.

In This Article

Key Pointers

  • Pregnancy-related dreams can reflect a person’s fears, wishes, and imagination.
  • Dreams about being pregnant can represent emotional and spiritual growth.
  • These dreams may also indicate that a person is expecting a child, particularly in a happy and secure relationship.

Pregnancy Dreams – What Does This Mean?

Pregnancy dreams may reflect feelings about motherhood, responsibility, or personal growth or even reveal anxieties or hopes about life changes. Here is a compilation of five probable reasons for dreams about pregnancy.

1. Start of something new

Women create new life hence dreaming of pregnancy could mean you are yearning to be creative in your waking life.

  • You probably want to do something artistic or exciting down the line.
  • This dream could also be about a new change or new idea, project or a goal in your personal life.
Dreams about being pregnant could also be about a new change or goal in your life

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  • This aspect is in its growth and developmental stage.
  • It can be anything from wanting to start something new or just getting a makeover.

2. Stage of pregnancy

It is important to take a look at what stage of pregnancy you were in your dream.

  • If the dream involves a pregnancy in its early stages of conception, it could suggest that the particular aspect of your life has been a recent event or change.
  • If you have already given birth to your baby, then it could mean that the childbirth event has taken place.
Stage of pregnancy or motherhood

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  • If you have found neglecting your baby. For example, forgetting to feed him or her. Meaning something in your life needs your complete focus and you haven’t been giving it your undivided attention. Maybe these dreams are a sign that you need to focus more on your maternal responsibilities.
  • Towards the end of their gestation period, women often “nest,” where they start making a home and special space for the child. Dreams may be a reflection of how this home may look.

protip_icon Quick fact
Research shows that first-time mothers may have more pregnancy-related dreams than those who have had children before (4).

3. Wishful thinking

Sometimes dreams like this may actually mean what it is.

  • Maybe your unconscious mind is telling you it’s time to embrace motherhood, especially if you are married or in a stable and happy relationship.
  • If your mood in the dream was happy and content, then it could be a desire or anticipation that you secretly want to get pregnant and start a new chapter in your life with your partner.
  • If in your waking life, you aren’t ready for a baby, but still dreaming about it, this may mean fear of added responsibilities in your life.
  • As a new parent, the anxieties and worries that come with parenthood can often manifest as vivid dreams filled with “what ifs” related to the challenges of parenting in real life. Such as fear about dropping your child, forgetting them somewhere or getting lost. You may have these thoughts in real life and then they manifest in your dreams.

4. Dreams & desires

Pregnancy dreams have a high degree of complexity. It can be broken into many layers of interpretations.

  • Such dreams may indicate unacknowledged desires and feelings related to fertility in your waking life.
  • People who have given up on their dreams or actual goals in life often dream of pregnancies.
  • For example, someone who wanted to be a dancer, but took the conventional path and became an engineer, may be tormented with dreams of pregnancies until he or she realizes their true passion and acts upon it.

Michelle Tillman, a mother of two, shares her experience of having dreams about being pregnant after trying to conceive for a long time. She shares, “I guess you would call it an open vision. I was sitting on my couch, and it was like my head just went back, and I closed my eyes. I saw myself telling all of the people who I work with because I work at a church, and I know they’ve been believing in me and my husband, believing with us to be able to conceive. In the dream, I closed my eyes, and I heard myself sobbing to them. I was like, ‘God finally did it. We’ve been trying for almost two years, and God did it.’ I said that in the dream or the vision, and I woke up or came back to my senses, and I just wrote it down. I had a vision.” Michelle is now a mother to two beautiful children (i).

Analyze Yourself What Your Dreams Of Being Pregnant Mean

Here are a few questions that can help you analyze what your dreams of being pregnant mean:

  • Have you been thinking of quitting your job or a possible career change?
  • Are there any plans of acquiring a new residence maybe or new projects that you have been contemplating over?
  • Has there been any new idea that you haven’t acted upon and passionately believed in?
  • Any plans for a change in your lifestyle?
  • Are you thinking of having a baby or are already expecting a baby?
Analyze what your dreams of being pregnant mean

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  • Are you thinking about how you or your partner would fare as parents, or whether your partner is prepared to embrace fatherhood?

protip_icon Quick tip
If your pregnancy dreams are causing distress, you may start a dream journal or talk to a friend or loved one. It will help you process your dreams better (5).

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Are pregnancy dreams common?

Dreaming may increase during pregnancy as this phase usually brings changes in the physical, psychological, and emotional stages of a woman. Pregnancy discomforts due to increased hormones and altered sleep patterns due to the urge to urinate frequently may affect the period of deep sleep and result in vivid dreams (2) (3).

2. What about pregnancy dreams about twins and triplets?

Dreaming about twins or triplets may simply mean you may have a longing for more than one child or maybe expecting multiple births. The dream may also be caused if you are stressed at the thought of being overwhelmed by responsibilities. However, a dream about multiple births may have other interpretations if you are neither pregnant nor planning to expand your family.

3. Are dreams about pregnancy more common in women than in men, and if so, why?

Dreams about pregnancy can be experienced by both men and women, irrespective of their gender. However, dreams are not always direct representations of literal desires and experiences. Dreams can often be interpreted differently depending on a person’s wants and beliefs.

Since dreams are thought to be the world of your imaginations and reflect your subconscious mind, certain dreams of yours might have some significant meaning. Your recurring dreams about being pregnant might simply be interpreted as a yearning to become a mother or they may have some other significance. It might be indicating the beginning of something new or a recent important change in your life. Even different stages of pregnancy might have distinct meanings in your dreams. However, if your dreams interfere with your daily life, you may try to speak with someone for your dream analysis.

Infographic: Dreams During Pregnancy

While we’re on the subject of pregnancy and dreams, did you know that pregnant women dream a lot? There are many reasons behind it. Scroll down for interesting information about dreaming when expecting, as we have explored this topic in our infographic.

facts on the dreams during pregnancy (infographic)

Illustration: Momjunction Design Team

Illustration: What Do Dreams About Being Pregnant Mean? 4 Interpretations

dreams about being pregnant_illustration

Image: Dall·E/MomJunction Design Team

Dreaming about being pregnant can be a powerful symbol of new beginnings and potential. Discover the message behind this dream and unlock its hidden meaning.

Personal Experience: Source

References

MomJunction's articles are written after analyzing the research works of expert authors and institutions. Our references consist of resources established by authorities in their respective fields. You can learn more about the authenticity of the information we present in our editorial policy.
  1. Dreams About Being Pregnant: Dream Meanings Explained
    https://www.huffpost.com/entry/dreams-about-being-pregnant_n_891547
  2. R L Blake Jr and J Reimann; (1993); The pregnancy-related dreams of pregnant women.
    https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8452063/
  3. Pregnancy Dreams.
    https://americanpregnancy.org/healthy-pregnancy/pregnancy-health-wellness/pregnancy-dreams/
  4. How Pregnancy Affects Dreams.
    https://www.sleepfoundation.org/pregnancy/how-pregnancy-affects-dreams#:~:text=Vivid%20dreams%20and%20nightmares1
  5. Pregnancy Dreams.
    https://americanpregnancy.org/healthy-pregnancy/pregnancy-health-wellness/pregnancy-dreams/

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Michele Waldron
Michele WaldronPsy.D, LADC-I, CSCT
Dr. Michele Waldron is a licensed clinical psychologist, certified couples counselor, licensed alcohol and drug counselor, and sex therapist with five years of experience. She received her Psy.D from Antioch University, New England, and has a group practice that supports adults’ relationships and sexual health.

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Shreeja holds a postgraduate degree in Chemistry and diploma in Drug Regulatory Affairs from the University of Mumbai. Before joining MomJunction, she worked as a research analyst with a leading multinational pharmaceutical company.

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Rebecca is a pregnancy writer and editor with a passion for delivering research-based and engaging content in areas of fertility, pregnancy, birth, and post-pregnancy. She did her graduation in Biotechnology and Genetics from Loyola Academy, Osmania University and obtained a certification in ‘Nutrition and Lifestyle in Pregnancy’ from Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU).

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Reshmi Das has over four years of experience as a clinical coordinator, medical content writer and medical conference coordinator. Her continuous interest in medical journals and writing makes her write well-researched articles for MomJunction.

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