Dreaming about pregnancies is quite common for women, and it sometimes can reflect fears about the pregnancy. Pregnancy dreams are often described as exceptionally vivid and sometimes just plain crazy. Experts say that dreams become more vivid during pregnancy because of increased progesterone and increased awakenings from dream-filled REM sleep. It is very common for pregnancy dreams to follow the natural pattern of childbirth thus changing as the mother’s concerns about the developing pregnancy changes.

Dreams that are prevalent during pregnancy include dreams of marital infidelity, death of the partner, birth defects, losing the pregnancy, and of having twins or multiples.

Infidelity and death of the partner dreams often are played out in response to feelings of insecurity due to appearance changes or changes in sexual relationships during pregnancy.

Dreaming about possible birth defects or of losing the child represents anxiety on the part of the woman that something may be wrong with the child or that the mother may not be taking care of themselves properly.

Dreams of having twins may be a sign the pregnancy is overwhelming at some level for the woman. This dream can also be a sign of insecure feelings of not being a capable mother.

Dream expert, Patricia Garfield, Ph.D. outlines some typical pregnancy dream images and the probable stimulus in her article, “Pregnancy and Childbirth Dreams”. For the full article, visit her website http://www.patriciagarfield.com.

Women’s Pregnancy Dream Symbols

1st Trimester Dream Symbols & The Probable Stimulus

Easy labor and childbirth -Awareness of conception
Mature baby -Hopes for easy childbirth
Gardens, fruits, flowers, seeds -Fertility, inner growth
Carrying heavy bag, trouble walking -Awareness of weight gain
Dangers or intruders -Fear of motherhood
Open doors, falling, drowning, loss, blood -Fear of miscarriage
Factories, construction -Awareness of growing fetus
Small, structures, miniatures -Awareness of small fetus
Water, swimming -The womb’s internal fluids
Small aquatic animals -Awareness of fetus in fluid


2nd Trimester Dream Symbols & The Probable Stimulus

Love affairs with former lovers -Desire to feel attractive
Husband being helpful -Need for support
Husband being difficult -Feeling insecure, unstable
Husband having love affair -Insecurity of attractiveness
Cuddly animals: puppies, kittens, chicks -Awareness of enlarging fetus
Mother being helpful or harmful -Hopes for own motherhood


3rd Trimester Dream Symbols & The Probable Stimulus

Baby's sex and appearance -Hopes and fears for baby
Special communication with baby -Wish to know baby
Large animals: lion, ape, monkey -Awareness of enlarged fetus
Great waters -Amniotic sac breaking
Details of labor and delivery -Hopes and fears about labor
Journeys, being lost -Fear of the unknown
Rituals, ceremonies, holidays, -Anticipation of joy of birth

*These are general trends, not isolated categories; themes and images overlap between trimesters and vary with individual dreamer. List is not conclusive.

This article is based on material from Patricia Garfield's Women's Bodies, Women's Dreams, chap. 6, Ballantine, © Patricia Garfield, 1988. Patricia Garfield, Ph.D. is a worldwide authority on dreams. She is one of the six co-founders of The Association for the Study of Dreams and is the 1998-99 President. Her bestseller Creative Dreaming is considered a classic, available in fourteen languages. http://www.patriciagarfield.com