Many women start to use birth affirmations at the end of pregnancy to achieve an empowering birth. While birth affirmations are an effective way to prepare for birth, they tend to focus solely on the birth process. Pregnancy affirmations can be used to target the entire range of experiences you are having throughout your pregnancy and can help you get the most out of this transformative time.
Pregnancy affirmations can be used to overcome fears, connect with your baby, feel better physically, or to feel supported and empowered. One area that women tend to struggle with during pregnancy is body confidence. Generally speaking, women tend to have a hard time loving and accepting their bodies and pregnancy is a time when women are especially vulnerable. But I feel that there is no better time to start loving and appreciating your body. If you focus on the positives during pregnancy you give yourself the opportunity to revel in the magnificence of the female body.
To begin, it’s important to know what you are already thinking. We think somewhere around 60,000 thoughts per day and most of them are taking place in the subconscious mind. When was the last time you checked in with your thoughts? Do you know whether your self-talk is empowering you? I recommend setting aside a day, or even a week, where you pay attention to your self-talk.
You may benefit from keeping count of the negative thoughts that you are having. This can give you an indication of how many negative messages you’re giving yourself each day. Or you may choose to write down the negative thoughts that you are having so that you know what is coming up repeatedly. If you do write a list be sure to destroy it once you’ve had time to analyse it. You do not want to dwell on these negative thoughts.
Now that you have tuned in to your self-talk, you can see where your trouble spots are. If, for instance, you have found that you are unhappy with your changing pregnant body you might be telling yourself “I can’t believe how fat I am getting. I hate my body.” That is a disempowering thought, and now that you are consciously aware of that thought, you have the opportunity to change how you think about your body. Over time you can start to change what your subconscious mind believes too.
Next, you can express gratitude for the work your body is doing. Pregnancy requires your body to make monumental changes, and somehow your body knows exactly what to do. There’s no small feat in that.
Some affirmations that you can use to express gratitude are:
- I appreciate the work that my body is doing and the changes that it is going through during pregnancy
- I am grateful for the opportunity to watch my pregnant body change as my baby grows
- I thank my body for supporting my baby’s growth and development
Finally you can express body confidence affirmations to love and celebrate your pregnant body. This can be a challenge at first. Don’t be discouraged. You do not have to believe what you are saying in order to use the affirmations. Over time it will become easier and easier and you may be surprised to catch yourself thinking positive thoughts about your body, even on a subconscious level.
When you feel ready, I recommend that you stand in front of a mirror to say your affirmations aloud. Affirmations are very powerful when you can look yourself in the eye and hear yourself saying them. You will know what I mean once you give it a try.
Some affirmations you can use to celebrate your pregnant body are:
- I am at peace with the fact that my body is growing and changing to accommodate my baby
- I enjoy seeing the changes that my body is going through during pregnancy
- I love seeing a bump where my baby is growing inside of me
- I love my growing body and feel more and more attractive every day
- I am proud of the changes that my body is going through during pregnancy.
- I feel good about my pregnant body.
If you’d like to write your own affirmations I recommend that you are specific about what you want to happen or how you want to feel. You should state your affirmation in the present tense, writing about it as if it is already happening.
Getting in the habit of noticing your self-talk, expressing your gratitude, and using affirmations during your pregnancy will serve you well throughout pregnancy, birth, and beyond.
by Jamie Hocking
PS Need to celebrate not only your pregnant body but feel great about your upcoming baby’s birth and feel more calm and confident?
Here are some affirmations (and inspirational messages) I prepared earlier! Enjoy 🙂 xx
And if you want to pick up your own set of cards – check them out here: Birth Goddess Cards
