If you're expecting a baby, having recurring dreams about labor and giving birth may be your brain preparing for the big day.
It stands to reason that a woman who is actually pregnant would dream about giving birth. It can symbolize your joy and fear over giving birth and becoming a mother. Lauri Loewenberg, dream expert and author of Dream on It: Unlock Your Dreams, Change Your Life, explains to Romper that having dreams about childbirth is the subconscious preparing you for the big event. In spite of this, "it is common for these dreams to include giving birth to strange things, like a litter of kittens or a baby with a full set of teeth." Even if the dream seems terrifying, you shouldn't worry about it. Loewenberg explains that if you dream that you're giving birth to a fish, for example, it's because you're afraid of being confronted with an unwelcome surprise.
You may not want to wake up from a dream about labor and delivery if you're trying to conceive a child. After all, it's the thing you want most of all, and if it turns out to have been an illusion, it can feel like your brain is playing a cruel trick on you. On the contrary, it is your imagination that is doing the inverse. Dreaming of labor and delivery while trying to conceive is "very much like manifestation," says Loewenberg. Your mind is putting you in that situation for real to keep you motivated to keep trying. Consider it a mental spur to keep moving forward on the path to motherhood.
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It's possible that the unborn creature in your pregnancy dream isn't actually a baby. There is another common interpretation of the birth dream that has nothing to do with infants at all. According to Loewenberg, "pregnancy in a dream is connected to something in your life that is in the works: a degree, a project, an idea that is beginning to grow and develop." Neither of the dreamers were pregnant or trying to conceive. And just as having a baby is the beginning of a whole new chapter in your life, so too is giving birth to an idea, project, degree, etc. Consider what it is that you have been working on; perhaps you have been putting in extra hours at the office in the hopes of being promoted, or perhaps you are almost finished with a renovation project at home. The "birth" you've been seeking may be found in any or all of these experiences.
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For the most part, dreams that involve giving birth have one thing in common: they are about the act of creation. The thing is, you might have another delivery to make, and it could be a message. According to Loewenberg, "giving birth" in a dream often symbolizes the release of repressed emotions. It could be information or an idea you've been sitting on for a while. Consider what's changed in your life recently, or what emotions you've been suppressing for too long but now feel the need to express. It's possible that you need to talk to someone, perhaps a close friend, relative, or loved one, in order to get something off your chest. It could be a sign that your relationship is in need of some TLC so that it, too, can begin anew.
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Dreams are windows into your subconscious, allowing you to learn more about your true thoughts and emotions. Your dreams may reveal a disconnection with a loved one or even with yourself. According to Adora Winquist', a dream expert, "Dreams about giving birth are often a call from our subconscious to create something new," as quoted in Romper. It could be a more fulfilling romantic connection (or the repair of an existing one), or it could be a personal growth opportunity. Having a dream about giving birth is your mind's way of telling you to examine your connections and see what needs fixing. Perhaps the most important relationship in your life is the one you have with yourself; perhaps you need to learn to better understand your feelings or maybe you just need to take a closer look at your perspective on life and make some adjustments.
Women who are trying to conceive, who are expecting, and women who are not pregnant often have dreams about giving birth. Your subconscious will use the metaphor of birth to help you understand that the new aspect of your life that it is bringing into being needs your care and attention in order to flourish. And your own life, too, can become a dream in this way.
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