• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
The Artisan Life
  • Dot Marker Pages
  • Learning Center
  • Seasonal Printables
    • Winter Printables
    • Valentine's Day printables
    • St. Patrick's Day printables
    • Earth Day
    • Easter printables
    • Mother's Day
    • Fall printables
    • Thanksgiving Printables
    • Christmas Printables
  • Printable Calendars
  • Preschool + K
    • Alphabet Tracing Worksheets
    • Dot Marker Pages
    • Cut & Paste Crafts
    • Preschool Math
    • Fine Motor Practice Pages
    • Spanish Preschool Pages
  • Coloring Pages
  • Shop
  • Recipes
    • Healthy dessert recipes
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Dot Marker Pages
  • Free Printables
    • Preschool worksheets
    • Free Printable Coloring Pages
    • Printable journals & planners
  • Learning Center
  • Shape Templates
  • Coloring Pages
  • St Pat's Printables
  • Desserts
  • Dot Marker Bundle
  • Shop
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
  • search icon
    Homepage link
    • Dot Marker Pages
    • Free Printables
      • Preschool worksheets
      • Free Printable Coloring Pages
      • Printable journals & planners
    • Learning Center
    • Shape Templates
    • Coloring Pages
    • St Pat's Printables
    • Desserts
    • Dot Marker Bundle
    • Shop
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
  • ×
    Home » parenting

    How to Best Prepare for Pregnancy Mentally

    Published: Sep 22, 2018 · Modified: Aug 27, 2019

    • Share

    This post may include affiliate links, which means I may make a commission on purchases made through these links at no additional cost to you. 

    In this post, I'm sharing my tips for how to best prepare for pregnancy mentally because we had a somewhat lengthy mental preparation phase. Quite honestly, we've been parents for less time than we spent mentally preparing! A combination of my husband being on a submarine and losing my dad affected our family-starting decisions. Conversations with a couple of friends really helped us out, so I hope that you can view this as a conversation with a friend. If you're trying to decide whether or not you're mentally ready to begin a family, I hope this post helps you.

    how to best prepare for pregnancy mentally

    Not to be TMI, but it took us over a year of mental preparation to finally feel ready to begin trying to conceive. We'd originally thought we'd be ready to start ttc shortly after my husband returned home from his second deployment. We knew the that we didn't want to have a child while he was on sea tour (on the submarine), but that we did want to try for having a baby prior to his leaving active duty after shore tour. I know there are plenty of families who have babies on sea tour, but I truly don't know how they do it!

    My first piece of advice to you is don't feel bad if you just aren't ready yet.

    Don't feel bad if you thought you were ready, but then life circumstances change. People say that you'll never truly be ready until you have to be. I think that's somewhat correct, but you have to have some level of mental readiness. For some people, losing a parent might hasten their decision to go ahead and have children. For us, it had the opposite effect. My dad was the "soccer mom" of my family. He drove the mini van and my mom had the two door car! It took me a while to process my grief to a great enough extent to feel ready.

    [the_ad id="11052"]

    Whatever your reasons for not feeling quite ready just yet, don't feel guilty. You may face nosy questions from friends, family members, or even just random people about when you're having kids My mother-in-law sent us an anniversary card that said "I hope the family grows pronto!" I think questions about when you're having children are incredibly rude. I've known so many people who've faced infertility and pregnancy loss. You just never know why someone doesn't have children and if it may be a difficult topic for them. Consequently, I don't think you are under any obligation to explain yourself at all if someone starts asking you about kids! Don't feel bad and don't feel obligated to go ahead and have kids just because your MIL has dropped her zillionth not so subtle hint.

    maternity photo in a bathrobe

    Know the Facts

    As people increasingly wait longer to have children, more people are concerned about the potential risks of being an "older" parent. I know several friends who were shocked when a doctor started talking about their "geriatric pregnancy!" Pregnancy after 35 is currently considered "geriatric," a term we usually associate with people who are much older than that! If you're concerned about your age, risks that may run in your family, or possible difficulties conceiving, seeking genetic counseling ahead of time can help put your mind at ease. birth. You might want to get genetic testing at the best fertility clinic, for example. You can minimize complications if you talk to professionals early, and get a full assessment before planning a pregnancy.  

    Improve Your Health

    Focusing on my health and proper nutrition prior to trying to conceive was very important to me. My doctor advised me to take a prenatal vitamin for at least three months prior to starting ttc. Your health care provider may recommend a multivitamin, iron, folic acid, or other supplements based on your diet and needs. Make sure to ask! If you have an unhealthy habit, it might be time to break up with it and seek cessation services. Avoiding drinking and smoking, for example, is especially important for the health of your future child! Changing your diet to include less processed food and more whole foods can also help prepare your body for a healthy pregnancy. Before ttc is also a great time to pick up an exercise habit, if you don't already have one! As part of mental preparations for pregnancy, I read all the latest studies and literature I could find on exercise during pregnancy. You can read more about how beneficial staying active while pregnant is in my post about our gym maternity photo session.

    Gym maternity photoshoot - ring rows

    Organize Your Life

    Adding a new member to your family changes everything. I tried hard to get organized and plan ahead while pregnant. Honestly wish I'd started sooner and done more! Things like baby proofing that seem so far off suddenly need to be done before you know it! If you're concerned about where you live and how a baby will fit, for example, you might want to consider moving to a new home. We played with the idea of moving, but ultimately decided not to because we knew we'd be leaving Hawaii just a year or so later. Start creating a plan on what you would like to get done before your baby arrives so you can avoid stressing out while pregnant. Luckily, I mostly avoided morning sickness, but I was absolutely exhausted during my first trimester and didn't get much of anything (besides napping!) done. 

    Develop a Self Care Practice

    You will need to make sure that you can take care of yourself before you start caring for your baby. My Hypnobabies tracks really helped me calm my mind and sleep better. I wish I'd purchased their "Peaceful sleep for all" track years ago! Working to improve your time management skills and developing a self care practice, such as meditation, can help you manage both your pregnancy and the stresses of having a baby. Even developing the habit of taking a couple deep, even breaths whenever you're frustrated can work wonders! Finding self care practices that refresh you but fit into a busy schedule is very beneficial. When my baby was very young, all I could find time for was stretching while I brushed my teeth, but at least it was something!

    foot soak for sore feet with rosemary and magnesium flakes

    Nurture Positive Thoughts

    my birth story post! I also have a recent post on how to write positive affirmations that work.

    Having a baby is a big commitment and not a decision to take lightly. Making sure to prepare yourself mentally and physically for pregnancy can help ensure a healthy pregnancy and baby. I really hope these tips to best prepare for pregnancy mentally help you out! Do you have any additional tips? How did you prepare mentally for pregnancy?

    watercolor luna moth with crystals and the text "Natasha" of The Artisan Life

    More Related Parenting Posts

    [catlist search="parenting" numberposts=4 orderby=rand excludeposts=this]

     

    SaveSave

    SaveSave

    SaveSaveSaveSave

    SaveSave

    More parenting

    • text "recommended amazon favorites" with a picture of a boy playing with magnet tiles
      Amazon Recommendations
    • Text "free printable Christmas affirmation cards" with a preview of two pages of printable affirmation cards with cute Christmas clip art
      Free Printable Affirmation Cards for Christmas
    • 35+ positive affirmations for kids
      35+ Positive Affirmations for Kids
    • How to plan your first family camping trip
      How to Plan Family Camping Trip (even if you've never gone camping before!)
    • Share
    text "access hundreds of printables now"

    Reader Interactions

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Primary Sidebar

    Text "Hello! I'm Natasha!" with an image of a woman a blue shirt

    Hi, I’m Natasha! I'm so glad you're here.

    I'm a former classroom teacher with a Masters of the Arts in Teaching turned homeschooler. I share educational & planner printables for busy parents and teachers. Simplify your life when you discover how to instantly access 700+ printables here!

    More about me →

    Popular

    • text "free printable reading log trackers for kids" with a preview of two reading tracker printables
      Free Printable Reading Logs
    • text "free printable reading coloring pages" with a preview of three reading coloring pages for kids
      Free Printable Reading Coloring Pages
    • text "free printable reading log bookmarks' with a preview of two pages of printable reading bookmark
      Free Printable Reading Tracker Bookmarks
    • text "free printable emotions coloring pages for kids" with a preview of three emotions and feelings coloring pages
      Free Printable Emotions and Feelings Coloring Pages

    The Artisan Life is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

    The Artisan Life also uses affiliate links for other sites. For a full look at my policy, please visit its page here.

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • Privacy Policy
    • Disclaimer

    Save Time

    • Join the Learning Center for quick & easy access to hundreds of printables

    Contact

    • Contact

    If you have any questions feel free to contact me directly here: natashalh(at)stalkingthewildsnark(dot)com. I do not accept guest posts and will not respond to unsolicited requests for guest posts or links. Stock images by Depositphotos

    COPYRIGHT © 2012 – 2025 The Artisan Life · ALL RIGHTS RESERVED