While pregnancy is a joyous and wonderful time, it can also be a time filled with fear and anxiety for many women. The “what-ifs” come out of the woodwork and soon-to-be moms become frantic for reassurance. Every mom will surely sympathize with these top 12 pregnancy fears:
- That you will have a mɪscarriage or a stɪllborn. And what could be worse than finding out the baby you were so excited about is no longer a reality? Maybe having to tell everyone over and over again about it?
- That there will be something “wrong” with your baby. Many parents fear that their child will be born with a physical deformɪty or birth dᴇfect.
- That you will go into preterm labor. One mom stated, “I’ve had my previous 3 kids preterm. Even though I know how it feels, I am scared that I will deliver my baby at work or something and I won’t be able to save him.”
- That you will eat or drink something that will hᴀrm your baby. With Listeria and other food-borne pathogens floating around, some moms are afraid to eat anything during pregnancy.
- That you will never be able to lose the baby weight. Most moms feared being pregnant and giving birth would permanently damagᴇ their body and self image.
- Getting stretch marks. One first-time mom commented, “I fear that my newly formed stretch marks won’t go away or will get worse.”
- That you will have to get an ᴇpisiotomy. Yikes! Enough said.
- That you will have an emergency c-section. This is something even repeat c-section mommies, like myself, are afraid of.
- That you will poop during delivery. This one was one of the most common fears among moms closer to delivery.
- That labor pain will be more than you can handle. This was more commonly mentioned by first-time moms.
- That you won’t make it to the hospital. Many soon-to-be moms worried they would give birth at home or in the car.
- And the last – but not least – is the fear that after all the joy of your child making his or her way into the world, you will be left with postpartum dᴇpression.
