Thinking about becoming a Mom

Thinking About Getting Pregnant?

What every woman should consider

Are you starting to notice more women with Baby Bumps? Does it seem that around every corner there’s a new mom pushing a stroller with diaper bags attached and blankies flying in the wind? Are there new Dads walking around cradling a newborn in a front carrier everywhere?

If you’re starting to become more aware of pregnant women and new families, chances are, you just might be starting to think about becoming a mom.

There are many paths to becoming a family

Everyone approaches this process from their own unique perspective. What are you thinking when you consider your personal timeline for getting pregnant? Maybe you want to be pregnant in 6 months. Maybe it’s a year or more away in the future? Perhaps you are hoping it will be within a month. No matter what, there’s a lot to consider as you prepare.

Journaling

Many women find it helpful to write down the factors that are influencing their decision about becoming pregnant.

• How does work, school and your career fit into your plans?
• What about your partner’s ideas?
• Is there family pressure to produce a grandchild?
• Do you or your partner have other children?
• Is there pressure to have a larger family and/or a big brother or sister?

Family pressure to produce a grandchild can be very intense. You may have been dealing with unrelenting questions about when you’re going to get pregnant for years.

If you’re in a relationship, it’s normal for one person to be ready for a baby and for their partner to be more hesitant, have a different timeline or to have other priorities.

What kind of mom do you want to be

• What’s important to you when you consider becoming a mother?
• How do you see yourself being with a child of your own?
• Who are your role models for mothering?
• What did you appreciate about your mother or the mother figures in your life?
• What do you want to avoid doing?
• What kind of mom do you want to be?

As you consider your future

It’s completely normal and natural to start pondering these questions and envision your future only to find out that life, school, partners, family, work and everything in our busy and complicated lives aren’t exactly lining up the way we hoped they would.

Most of us feel a bit overwhelmed by the normal everyday pressures of life, and hesitant to add a new baby to an already busy life.

Perhaps you’re feeling pressure to delay pregnancy until you’ve accomplished your goals. No matter what the factors are that influence your decision, it’s often helpful to write them down and then take some time and think about what’s most important to YOU!

That’s the beauty of it! Most of the time, life is much more deliciously complicated and unpredictable and yet, somehow it all works out.