Joanne, about to start trying for her first baby, is anxious about the idea of being pregnant.
“My husband and I have been married for 5 years and we’ve always known we would eventually start a family. We bought a house last year and we both know it’s the right time, so we’ve decided this year we’re going to start trying for a baby. I’m really excited about starting our family but I’m also really nervous about being pregnant. When my sister was expecting my nephew she had nausea for 9 months and she was miserable the whole time. All my friends who have kids did nothing but complain throughout their entire pregnancies. I really want to think I can enjoy being pregnant but am I being completely unrealistic? All people seem to talk about are the negatives, the nausea, the tiredness, the aches and pains. It’s freaking me out! What if I get pregnant and then can’t cope? I suppose what I want to know is how do the majority of pregnant women really feel about their pregnancy? Is it all doom and gloom or are there women out there who are actually enjoying being pregnant?”
Our survey results are in and Joanne is not the only one to feel apprehensive about the idea of being pregnant. According to our mums, 2/3 of you felt at least a bit nervous before becoming pregnant. The most common fears were body changes and experiencing nausea with a few mentioning being anxious about labour and giving birth.
Overall though, the majority of your experiences of pregnancy were positive with 73% giving being pregnant 7/10 or above. The best things about being pregnant, according to our surveyed mums, were getting a bump and feeling the baby move. Out of the 27% of our mums who struggled with being pregnant, nausea was the main problem along with tiredness and insomnia.
For any anxious first timers, our mums had some great advice:
“Enjoy every single second, marvel at the amazing job your body is doing and don't wish it away. I wish I'd done all that. It's a miraculous wonderful special time.” - Gemma, Bristol
“Relax. Being stressed isn't good for you or the baby. People only tell you the bad experiences. I loved pregnancy and had no issues but I was very relaxed through it all. Even if it is bad, it doesn't last that long so just enjoy it.” - Becky, Wales
“You just have to go with it, remember there is a little person in there growing, you are not always going to enjoy it, sometimes it is so uncomfortable but most of the time it is lovely, I was never actually sick but did feel sick for the first three months, it is all worth it in the end.” - Louise, Berkshire
“Grin and bear it cos the rest totally makes up for it!” - Dawn, Newcastle
“Whatever kind of pregnancy you have easy or hard it'll still be magical because it's your baby, your journey and your future. I hated being pregnant but I loved knowing it would end with such a spectacular prize!” - Emily, Cambridge