Most pregnant women become very excited as their pregnancy draws to a close. For many, pregnancy and motherhood have been a long-term goals that will finally be fulfilled soon. Reading and making preparations for the birth, talking with other mothers and holding other people's babies can heighten this anticipation. (Some women will go out and buy a puppy or a kitten to help disperse their motherly feelings!) Buying baby clothes and furniture and hearing the excitment in the voices of your family and friends can also bring feelings of impatience for the baby to be born.
The excitement and joy of meeting your baby as their birthday approaches brings a whole new purpose to being alive and preparing for having another human being to care for.
Scared or anxious
You may be feeling joy and excitement with the anticipation of meeting your new baby. These may be mixed with feelings of anxiety and possibly panic that can creep up on you or grip you. You may feel more vulnerable to this if you are tired or run down, or when lying awake at night due to broken sleep patterns, pondering your thoughts.
As the pregnancy advances, specific anxieties and fears may occupy your mind more frequently. You may look at women with babies and think how am I physically going to get from being pregnant to being a mother! Or you may wonder how you will deal with the pain, or how you will deal with another child. You may have a mother or sister who has experienced difficulties in their births and find it hard to imagine yours could be different. Or your concerns may stem from a potential lack of control once you go to the hospital.
It is ideal to talk these things over with your partner, a friend or your caregiver. Share your concerns and consider whether you need to put in place some strategies to help you deal with them, for example would you feel more at ease if you read more or did a birth plan?
Question your caregiver's practices and philosophies.