The Symbolic Meaning Behind Dreaming of Getting Pregnant
Learn what a dream about pregnancy means & get tips for interpreting your pregnancy dream
What does dreaming of getting pregnant mean?
Your dream symbols are unique and personal, but it’s still helpful to explore general symbolic meanings to help you interpret your dream of getting pregnant. Use the insights here about pregnancy dreams as a reference, but remember that this information is only a guide; don’t override your own intuition about your pregnancy dream’s meaning.
Before diving into the possible interpretations of a dream of getting pregnant, take a moment to reflect on your pregnancy dream. Consider answering the questions below to connect with your own inner sense of what the pregnancy dream symbol means for you. Writing about your dream in a dream journal might also help (learn more about how to interpret your pregnancy dream in your dream journal here).
Questions for interpreting your dream about pregnancy
What personal associations and experiences do you have with pregnancy?
How many months pregnant were you (or the pregnant person) in the dream?
What were you (or the pregnant person) wearing in the dream?
Who were the parents of the expected child in the dream?
Was there anything unusual about the pregnancy?
When was the last time you saw or read something about someone who was pregnant?
What memories do you associate with pregnancy? Is the dream of getting pregnant reminiscent of any of these memories?
What emotions do you associate with pregnancy?
How did you learn of the pregnancy in the dream?
Write one poetical sounding sentence about your dream of getting pregnant.
What was your emotional reaction to the dream pregnancy?
When you think of the word “pregnant,” what’s the next word that comes to mind?
When you think of stories (books, tv, movies, etc.) that feature pregnancy, what stories come to mind first? How was pregnancy portrayed in this story? Does your dream of getting pregnant remind you at all of any of these stories?
What does getting pregnant mean to you?
How did your dream of getting pregnant resolve?
Take a few deep breathes and imagine that your dream about getting pregnant had continued on for a few more minutes. What happens next in the dream about getting pregnant?
What do dreams about pregnancy mean symbolically?
Dreams about pregnancy may symbolize a growing transformative force within you, symbolic death and rebirth, fertility, or the feminine power of creation. Dreams about pregnancy are commonly interpreted as symbolic of getting ready to bring a new aspect of yourself into conscious awareness, or preparing for new insights, new ways of being, or new projects or transitions in waking life. You might think of a dream of getting pregnant as a signal that you’re growing something new inside you that you’re preparing to birth. When you dream of getting pregnant, it may suggest that your conscious mind is just beginning to recognize this new growth, or will soon become aware of it. A dream of getting pregnant tells you that you are in a phase of inner gestation, something new is taking shape within you!
In Interpreting Dreams for Self Discovery: Collected Essays, pregnancy dreams are described as indications that “you have an idea which is moving through the inner levels of the mind [1].” The authors propose that the stage of pregnancy in the dream can reflect how developed this inner idea is, while your emotional response to the pregnancy may mirror your attitude toward the emerging change or concept in waking life [2].
Pregnancy dream meanings to consider
The meaning of your dream about pregnancy is unique to you, but here are a few symbolic meanings of pregnancy dreams to consider.
Dreaming of getting pregnant
If you dream of getting pregnant it may symbolize that you’re in the beginning stages of bringing something new into your life — perhaps some new aspect of who you are, a new way of being, a project, idea, or life transition. How did you feel about getting pregnant in the dream? Who are the parents of the expected child? Was there anything unusual or unexpected about the pregnancy in the dream? What circumstances surrounded the dream pregnancy? How did your dream of getting pregnant resolve?
Dreaming about a pregnant woman
If you are a woman dreaming about a pregnant woman, this dream may symbolize something new coming from an unknown (or shadow) aspect of your personality. If you are a man dreaming about a pregnant woman, this dream may symbolize something new coming from aspects of your personality that you associate with the feminine (perhaps emotion, intuition, creativity, inner guidance, conscience, etc.).
How did you feel about the pregnant woman? How did you interact with her? Is the pregnant woman someone you know in waking life? If so, what do you associate with her that you don’t see in yourself (or don’t like to see in yourself). If the pregnant woman is not someone you know in waking life, does she remind you of anyone? How would you describe her? How is she like you? How is she not like you? How far along is the pregnancy? What else happened in the dream that could help you understand what new thing in your life this pregnant woman might be growing?
I had a dream I was pregnant
When you dream that you are pregnant, it may symbolize your conscious mind becoming aware of something new — an idea, thought, project, or emerging aspect of your personality. How did you feel about being pregnant in the dream? What other elements of the dream offer clues about what this “new” thing in your life is? How far along is the pregnancy? What happened at the end of your dream? What do you imagine would happen next if the dream continued?
Dream of getting pregnant with twins
To dream of getting pregnant with twins may symbolize a duality or inner conflict that you’re working to reconcile; the twins might symbolize opposing desires, perspectives, or seemingly contradictory aspects of your identity or personality. A dream of getting pregnant with twins culd also indicate that you are experiencing growth in multiple areas of your life at once, or embarking on multiple transitions or life changes at once. Do you know anything about these twins? How are they different? How are they similar? What were the circumstances of their conception?
Dream of getting pregnant with multiple babies
To dream of getting pregnant with multiple babies (triplets, quadruplets, etc.) may mean that you’re entering a time of great fertility or creativity. A dream of multiple births could also symbolize a growing internal understanding of multiple facets of your personality. In particular, a dream about getting pregnant with quadruplets could symbolize a psychological rebirth resulting in a new balanced sense of self. Conversely, a dream of multiple births could indicate that you’re feeling psychologically overwhelmed. How did you feel about the multiple births in the dream? What was the general emotional mood of the dream? How were the babies similar? How were the babies different? How did your dream of getting pregnant with multiple babies end?
Giving birth in a dream
To give birth in dream may symbolize that your conscious mind is on the brink of understanding some new idea, thought, or aspect of yourself that has been working its way through your subconscious for some time. How difficult or easy was the labor? How did you feel about giving birth in the dream? What was the baby like? What were the circumstances of the labor?
Surprise pregnancy in a dream
If you dream of a surprise pregnancy this might indicate that your waking mind has been ignoring some new development in your life or personality that you will no longer be able to ignore. How did you feel about the surprise pregnancy in the dream? How did you respond to the surprise pregnancy news? How far along was the pregnancy?
Dreaming of a pregnant animal
If you dream about a pregnant animal this could symbolize the emergence of new instincts, drives, or “untamed” aspects of your personality. A dream about a pregnant animal might also mean that something new is about to show up in your internal or external world and that you’re not quite ready to acknowledge it. What animal was pregnant in your dream? What do you associate with this animal? What was the last thing you saw, read, or heard about this particular animal in waking life? How did you know the animal was pregnant in your dream? How did you feel about the animal’s pregnancy in your dream? How did you interact with the pregnant animal?
Dream of being pregnant with an animal
To dream that you’re pregnant with an animal could mean that you’re feeling more deeply connected to your instincts or aware of a new gut feeling. Dreaming of being pregnant with an animal could also symbolize that you don’t fully consciously understand something new that you’re bringing to life (a new idea, aspect of who you are, etc.). What do you associate with the particular animal that you’re pregnant with? When was the last time you saw, read, or heard something about this animal? How far along was the pregnancy? In the dream, how did you feel about being pregnant with an animal?
Dream of being pregnant with something non-human
A dream of being pregnant with something non-human suggests that you’re bringing something new into the light of consciousness. What non-human thing are you pregnant with? What do you associate with this thing? What does this thing non-human thing mean to you? How do you feel about the pregnancy news in your dream?
If your dream pregnancy disturbs you, this could mean that you’re becoming aware of aspects of your personality that you’re uncomfortable with. If you dream of being pregnant with something non-human and that pleases you, you might be undergoing an inner transformation that will result in new insights, projects, or ways of being.
Dream of an overdue pregnancy
If you dream about an overdue pregnancy, there might be something new in your life that is causing you a lot of inner tension. A dream about an overdue pregnancy could indicate that you’re avoiding something new in your life that you need to confront or take action on (e.g., a new thought you need to allow, something new about yourself you need to accept, a life transition you need to make, a new project you need to start, etc.) Do you have any personal associations, memories, or experiences with overdue pregnancy? How overdue was the pregnancy in your dream? How did you know the pregnancy was overdue? How did you feel about the pregnancy? How did the dream about an overdue pregnancy resolve?
Dream of difficult pregnancy
If you’ve had a personal experience with a difficult pregnancy, this dream may be trying to help you resolve the emotions of that experience. If you don’t have personal experience with a difficult pregnancy, dreaming of a difficult pregnancy suggests that you’re struggling to bring something new into your life or having a hard time accepting an emerging aspect of yourself. What made the pregnancy difficult? How far along was the pregnancy in the dream? How did the dream of a difficult pregnancy resolve? Is there an idea, project, transition, or aspect of your personality that you’re struggling to accept or bring to life?
Dream of miscarriage or pregnancy loss
If you’re currently pregnant, your dream might be an expression of fears and anxieties associated with pregnancy and an attempt to help you resolve those feelings. If you’ve had a personal experience with miscarriage or pregnancy loss, your dream may be an attempt to help you process the emotions that were part of your own pregnancy loss experience. What was the emotional landscape of your dream? How did the dream resolve? How do the emotions and experiences in the dream seem similar to your waking experiences, and how do they differ? How did you feel at the end of the dream?
If you have not had a personal experience with miscarriage or pregnancy loss, this dream could indicate that you’re turning away from a new idea, project, insight, transformation, or understanding that had been developing. How did you feel about the pregnancy in the dream? How did you feel about the miscarriage in the dream? Have you lost hope about anything recently in your life, or changed direction in some way? How did the dream about pregnancy loss resolve?
Dreaming of painful labor
A dream about painful labor could indicate that you will struggle to bring some new project, insight, or aspect of who you are to life. What was painful about the labor? If you have had a personal experience with painful labor, how was the dream labor different than the real life labor, and how was it similar? How did the dream about painful labor resolve?
Dream of giving birth to a genderless or gender-neutral child
A dream of giving birth to a child without gender might symbolize your own rebirth and new life. The birth of a genderless child in your dream might represent the emergence of a more whole version of yourself, a version that brings together your conscious and subconscious minds and aspects of your personality traditionally associated with both the feminine and masculine. How did you feel about giving birth to this genderless child? What was the child like? How did you know the child was gender-neutral? How else would you describe this child? How did the dream about giving birth to a genderless child resolve?
Dream of getting pregnant with someone other than your partner
If you dream about getting pregnant with someone other than your partner, this could indicate that you’re about to “bring to life” something that is not currently part of your waking life or your waking relationship (new ideas, emotions, qualities, etc.). If you know your dream pregnancy partner in waking life, this could mean that you see qualities in this person that you seek to bring to life in yourself or your current relationship. If you don’t know the other person in your waking life, this dream might symbolize a recognition of your own inner feminine qualities (for a male dreamer) or inner masculine qualities (for a female dreamer). Who was the other person in your dream about pregnancy? How would you describe them? How did you feel about this person in your dream? How far along was the pregnancy? What circumstances surrounded the pregnancy?
Dreaming of getting pregnant and not knowing the father
If you are a woman and you dream about getting pregnant and not knowing who the father is this could indicate that you’re on brink of bringing something new into your life that you don’t fully understand. This dream about pregnancy could also mean that unknown facets of your personality that you traditionally associate with masculinity will become known to you. How did you feel about being pregnant in the dream? How did you feel about not knowing who the father was in the dream? How far along was the dream pregnancy? How did other characters in the dream respond to the pregnancy? How did you respond to the pregnancy in the dream?
Man dreaming of getting pregnant or man dreaming of pregnancy
When a man dreams of getting pregnant or a man has a dream about pregnancy, this is likely to be an anima dream. Anima is the term Jungians use to describe the inner feminine in a man. This dream about pregnancy may symbolize something new coming from aspects of your personality that you associate with the feminine (perhaps emotion, intuition, creativity, inner guidance, conscience, etc.). If you dream that you are getting pregnant in the dream (as opposed to someone else getting pregnant in the dream), your conscious mind is close to understanding this new thing.
Nightmare about pregnancy
If you have nightmares about pregnancy this might mean that you’re feeling fearful about accepting new things that you’re learning about yourself, or fearful about a life transition or change. What was the scary part about your pregnancy nightmare? What emotions showed up in your pregnancy nightmare? When was the last time you felt those emotions in your waking life? How did your pregnancy nightmare resolve?
The symbolism of your dream about pregnancy
With the ideas above in your mind, re-read what you wrote about your dream about pregnancy. What do you think pregnancy in your dream symbolizes?
Keep track of how pregnancy, birth, and children show up in your dreams over time. The meaning of a dream about pregnancy becomes even more important when understood in the context of your other dreams. Following the progression of your dreams related to pregnancy, birth, and children can help you understand what they mean.
Citations for “The Symbolic Meaning Behind Dreaming Of Getting Pregnant”
[1] Page 98 in Interpreting Dreams for Self Discovery: Collected Essays edited by Dr. Laurel Clark & Paul Blosser, SOM Publishing, 2001.
[2] Page 98-99 in Interpreting Dreams for Self Discovery: Collected Essays edited by Dr. Laurel Clark & Paul Blosser, SOM Publishing, 2001.
Photos for this article were created with Adobe Firefly.
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