Third Trimester: Last Weeks' Anxieties
By Shellie Spradlin
As little girls most of us dream of the day we will marry and become mothers. We'll be pushing a stroller with a beautiful baby. We'll chose adorable outfits. Our partners will admire a smiling, content baby. Miraculously our dreams left out pregnancy, birth and the accompanying anxieties.
It never enters our minds before we see that second pink line, the emotional roller coaster awaiting us. In the first trimester we live in the blissful glow of happiness that there is actually a tiny human in our bodies. In the second trimester we can actually see the evidence of that little human so that glow remains and intensifies with each kick or jab. The third trimester the worries switch from what crib or bedding to such concerns as:
- This baby is coming out now!
- What if I can't handle the pain?
- How will I even know what labor feels like?
- What if something is wrong with my baby?
- What if I don't bond with him/her right away?
- What if I end up not being the "motherly" type?
- What if I have to have a c-section? Can I still breastfeed?
- Will the car break down on the way to the hospital?
- What if my midwife doesn't answer the phone?
These are just a few examples of what you may feel during the last 6 weeks of your pregnancy. Almost everyone who has ever been pregnant has worried about one or more of these things. The weeks leading up to the birth can be tiring, exciting and terrifying all at the same time.
