Pregnancy is hard — even the "easiest" pregnancies are challenging. It's a huge change, both physically and emotionally, and expecting parents have a lot of preparation to do. Luckily, there are so many things you can do to prepare your body and mind for becoming a parent. From reading pregnancy books to taking childbirth classes to hiring doulas to trying prenatal yoga, there are options for everyone.

Earlier this year, I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. My pregnancy was relatively uncomplicated, but toward the end of my pregnancy, I was dealing with a lot of aches and pains, as well as anxiety about becoming a parent.

I had always been interested in trying acupuncture, so at 36 weeks pregnant I decided to go to my first appointment. I knew acupuncture could help with some of my pregnancy symptoms, and a few of my friends said they had great experiences with prenatal acupuncture.

I booked a session with Dr. Sarah Biffen, who also offered cupping. Before my appointment, I spoke with her about the benefits of prenatal acupuncture and prenatal cupping.

Here's the conversation we had.

The post I Tried Acupuncture and Cupping for the 1st Time at 36 Weeks Pregnant — Here’s How It Went appeared first on Mom.com.

I have an overwhelming, intense fear of vomiting, also known as emetophobia. Now, nobody enjoys throwing up, but for me it's a deep-seated fear; even the thought of vomiting can cause extreme anxiety and panic attacks. To clarify further, there is nothing scarier to me than the idea of getting food poisoning or a stomach bug — and being around someone who has recently been sick sets off every alarm bell in my head.

I've had emetophobia for as long as I can remember, but it's been more intense since the time I was around 10. I also have generalized anxiety disorder and panic disorder — both of these disorders go hand-in-hand with emetophobia.

What is emetophobia?
According to the Cleveland Clinic, "Emetophobia is a mental health condition in which you experience an intense fear of vomiting, barfing, or throwing up… Emetophobia is a 'specific phobia' in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Specific phobias cause anxiety and panic attacks after exposure or anticipated exposure to the thing or situation you’re afraid of."

Emetophobia and pregnancy:
I knew since I was little that I wanted to have kids, but as I got older, I seriously considered whether or not I'd be able to make it through pregnancy with my emetophobia and anxiety disorders. I wanted nothing more than to be a mom, but the idea of dealing with morning sickness terrified me. This isn't unusual for people with emetophobia — according to the Cleveland Clinic, "Signs of emetophobia include avoiding becoming pregnant, due to the risk of morning sickness." After long discussions with my husband and therapist, I decided I didn't want to let my anxiety and emetophobia stop me from becoming a parent — so it was time to face my fears head-on.

As I write this, I'm 24 weeks pregnant, and guess what? I survived the first trimester. I was nauseous, I threw up a few times, but I made it. I'm not going to lie and tell you it was easy, because it wasn't — I had numerous panic attacks, I regularly struggled to eat, and I was in a state of near-constant anxiety for weeks on end. But I did make it.

Here are some things that helped me deal with the nausea and anxiety:

If you have emetophobia, this article might be triggering for you. I want to provide practical advice for other people with emetophobia who want to experience pregnancy, but that does mean I'll be talking candidly about nausea and vomiting. Take care of yourself.

The post I Have Severe Emetophobia — Here’s How I Survived the First Trimester of Pregnancy appeared first on Mom.com.

The minute you find out you’re expecting, you probably have visions of relaxing in a comfy spot with your hand on your belly, connecting with your baby, as the baby books advise. You may have also read in those same books that talking to or reading aloud to your unborn baby has significant benefits, and it’s true. There are valid reasons why you should read to your baby in the womb.

“There’s ample evidence that fetuses are picking up information from the outside world. They’re especially receptive to sounds from the mother’s body and the external environment.” Rick Gilmore, associate professor of psychology at Penn State, explained on the university’s website.

With so many engaging, classic children’s books on the market though, choosing the right books to read to your baby in the womb can be difficult. We’ve compiled several titles you may not have previously considered.

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Pregnancy is an exciting season of life, but it doesn’t mean that the experience is always sunshine and rainbows. Whether it’s your first child or your third, you’re likely all too familiar with the joys of morning sickness. Finding relief can be tricky; here are a few morning sickness remedies we recommend, so that nausea isn’t the only thing you remember from this monumental time.

The post Morning Sickness Remedies That Actually Work appeared first on Mom.com.

While the internet may make pregnancy look like a beautiful, perfectly curated journey filled with glowing photo shoots and not a stretch mark or breast milk stain in sight, the reality of growing humans can be a lot more … well, messy than we may have expected going in.

From pregnancy constipation and incontinence, to weight gain and fatigue, pregnancy symptoms can be both exhausting and difficult to navigate. One particularly common symptom that can surprise (and often embarrass) moms-to-be is leaky breasts.

If you have (or currently are) experiencing leaky breasts while pregnant, don’t worry. We’re here to break down why this is happening, what you can do about it, and when you should see a doctor.

The post Getting Real About Pregnancy: Leaky Breasts appeared first on Mom.com.

Early pregnancy can be a tough, confusing time — especially for first time parents. Sometimes, early pregnancy symptoms, miscarriage symptoms, and period symptoms can all seem to overlap, leaving you wondering what’s actually going on in your body. And if you’re actively trying to conceive, these questions might begin before you’ve even gotten a positive pregnancy test. It’s a lot to take in!

But if you’re wondering if what you’re feeling are early pregnancy symptoms, menstrual cycle weirdness, or something else entirely, keep reading. Let’s demystify exactly how you might be feeling in those first few weeks of pregnancy — and what you can do to feel better ASAP.

The post What Are the Early Symptoms of Pregnancy? appeared first on Mom.com.

When I was younger, my dream job was to be a stay-at-home mom.

I always had this picture in my mind of what my perfect family would look like — me and my husband raising our three kids, two sons and a daughter. I would envision the life we would have — the house we would live in, the extracurricular activities my children would participate in, and the places we would travel.

I met my perfect husband when we were both very young and we got married a few months before I turned 21. We were excited to start a family together, but were thinking we were going to wait until I was 24 to have our first baby. Plans changed and I found out I was pregnant exactly three months after we tied the knot.

Things were going well until I turned six weeks pregnant and my morning sickness kicked in. Well, at least what I thought was morning sickness.

The post The One Thing That’s Stopping Me From Growing My Family appeared first on Mom.com.

It started right before I hit the six-week mark. I knew I was pregnant — thank goodness for those early pregnancy tests — but the news still seemed surreal. The symptoms, though, those seemed to be reenforcing the fact of my impending little one quite forcefully.

Baby might be small, but they — and my pregnancy hormones — are quite mighty.

I woke up feeling sick, I saw the noon hour feeling sick, and through the afternoon and into the evening, I felt sick. It’s called “morning sickness,” so why was it lasting all day?! Better to call it “all-day sickness” if you ask me.

Technically, mornings are my best. I’m not 100%, but I can function. A cracker or bite of granola bar first thing helps. And waiting to brush my teeth until I have my bearings. But then, waves of nausea ripple throughout the day, gaining intensity. Evenings are definitely my worst. And honestly, I never expected it. I assumed I’d wake in the morning with MORNING SICKNESS and then progressively get better, not worse.

I suppose it’s just another one of those “jokes on me” parts of motherhood — a first trimester sacrifice for the joy of holding my new baby in a few months.

I. Can. Do. It.

I think.

It will totally be worth it.

First trimester nausea is a good sign.

It’s just that no one told me all-day morning sickness was a thing. And had I known, I could have at least gone into this with a more realistic frame of mind. So, lest you be caught off-guard like me, let me be the friend that tells you, yes, all-day morning sickness is a thing. And here’s how you might be able to cope:

The post No One Told Me All-Day Morning Sickness Was a Thing appeared first on Mom.com.

For many moms-to-be, morning sickness can be debilitating. See what a doctor recommends and how other moms handle the nausea and vomiting of pregnancy.

The post How Can I Ease Morning Sickness? appeared first on Mom.com.

As if the pregnancy symptoms that hit during waking hours — from morning sickness and body aches to relentless food cravings and bouts of insomnia — weren’t enough, many women also experience vivid, weird dreams during pregnancy.

What kinds of strange pregnancy dreams are moms having?

We asked moms about some of their strangest pregnancy dreams and they reported a wide range of odd nighttime occurrences:

“I had a particularly spicy dream about Tim Tebow, which was weird, because I was not even attracted to him before that.”

“I dreamt of bears — all kinds — during my pregnancy.”

“I had super crazy dreams, like giving birth to a 4-year-old girl. I had a boy.”

“My first kicked so hard I had recurring dreams he broke through the uterine wall and belly and fell out prematurely, and when I caught him he would blow up into a balloon … and I’d rush him to the hospital.”

“My first pregnancy, I repeatedly dreamt I was giving birth to a litter of kittens. My second pregnancy, I kept dreaming that my water broke in front of the lobster tank.”

“I constantly dreamed of being swept away by a river or the ocean. Probably because of how overwhelmed I felt.”

“My favorite was a dream I had that I was a Mexican wrestler, El Gigante Pregnante (obviously, I know this isn’t correct Spanish). … I had a mask and a yellow and red cape. Fear the belly!”

These weird dreams are entirely normal, according to Dr. Sears. “You dream differently sleeping while pregnant, because you sleep differently while you’re pregnant,” Dr. Sears wrote on AskDrSears.com. During pregnancy, women spend a larger percentage of nap and nighttime sleep in REM, which fosters both more dreaming and easier awakening.

Why we have weird dreams while pregnant

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According to the National Sleep Council, fluctuating hormones are the reason for these strange dreams, but that’s not the whole answer. Many fathers-to-be also report an uptick in strange or vivid dreams while awaiting the birth of a child, according to Dr. Sears.

But for pregnant women, some of the weird dreaming comes down to increased recall, due to changing sleep patterns, the NSC explains. Women are likely waking up more to use the bathroom or shift positions, which leads to remembering more dreams they’d forget on a regular night of sleep.

What do weird dreams during pregnancy mean?

The range of dreams during pregnancy runs the gamut from meeting up with old partners to having a spouse leave to being surrounded by baby animals to vivid sex dreams. Many fear-based dreams relate to the baby, such as having no milk, dropping the baby, or being unable to find the baby.

Your weird dreams during pregnancy are not prophecies for events to come, nor do they indicate anything else is wrong. The dreams can mean you’re bonding with your child (as in when you dream you’ve birthed a cute animal, rather than a baby) or that you’re processing some anxieties related to the huge life change of welcoming a child.

“Sleeping while pregnant causes dreams that often reflect a woman’s pressing concerns, which change with the stages of pregnancy,” explains Dr. Sears. This means your dreams may shift over the trimesters, capturing your latent worries at each stage. Toward the end of pregnancy, you may have bad dreams about delivery, or your child being hurt, but also upsetting dreams about your career or your partner.

Can we stop weird pregnancy dreams?

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Putting an end to upsetting dreams can be difficult, but you may be able to reduce their frequency by speaking to your doctor or therapist about your fears, anxieties, and questions regarding pregnancy and motherhood. Finding ways to manage your moods or anxiety during the day might also help you process whatever issues may be causing fearsome dreams.

You can also follow the National Sleep Foundation’s sleep tips for pregnant women to reduce your likelihood of waking up as often, thus cutting down on your recall of these dreams.

• Avoid spicy, acidic or fried foods that may cause sleep-interrupting heartburn.
• Stay hydrated during the day but avoid drinking liquids close to bedtime.
• Exercise regularly to stay healthy, promote good circulation ,and to avoid leg cramps.
• Consider using pregnancy pillows to achieve the most comfortable position possible while sleeping.

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