Beth Zalantai, MSc, is a clinically trained mental health professional with extensive experience delivering and supervising evidence-based psychological care. As a mom and therapist, Beth provides compassionate support for moms navigating their mental health.
While there are many beautiful moments in pregnancy, not every moment will feel magical. Some days, you might feel nauseous, exhausted, anxious, or completely disconnected from all the bump-holding bliss you see on social media. And that’s okay. Pregnancy is rarely easy, and social media tends to highlight the glowy parts.
Sometimes, a few honest words from someone who’s been there can shift your perspective or just help you feel a little less alone. These pregnancy quotes are here to meet you where you are and remind you that what you’re feeling is valid.
And if you’re ready to take another step, talking it through can really help. The Moment for Parents app offers a gentle way to check in on your feelings, reflect on what’s coming up, and feel supported every day, especially on the not-so-glowy ones. You can download the app and start processing your emotions today on iOS or on Android.
Breathe. It’s not a solution. It’s just the first step. Breathe to remind yourself that you matter, that you are worthy, that you are trying your best. The journey from pregnancy to parenthood can be joyful, wonderful, terrible, exhausting, exhilarating, and all of the above. It is a profound journey… Breathe in strength, and breathe out forgiveness.
Illana Stanger-Ross. A is for Advice (The Reassuring Kind): Wisdom for Pregnancy.
Even though you may struggle, even though you may be exhausted, may you also discover inner gems that you didn’t even know existed through the power of the love that has been awakened in you.
Kimberly Ann Johnson. The Fourth Trimester.
Over time you’ll learn that much of parenthood sometimes requires a fake-it-till-you-make-it strategy; you might just have to give your best performance of what a wise adult would do, even if you still feel like a scared kid inside.
Alexandra Sacks and Catherine Birndorf. What No One Tells You: A Guide to Your Emotions from Pregnancy to Motherhood.
It's okay to say to yourself, 'It sucks that I have to deal with this.' No one wants to hear this, but the idea that pregnancy is supposed to be easy is just an idea.
The same changes that may be torturing you during pregnancy are also allowing you to sustain a home to grow and nourish your baby—and not just any home, but one that is flexible and amendable—shifting and changing as your baby develops to best fit its needs.
Natalia Hailes and Ash Spivak. Why Did No One Tell Me This?: The Doulas' (Honest) Guide for Expectant Parents.
Pregnancy, like puberty, is freaky. But growing a baby is also a gorgeous, powerful, creative act. You may feel like a mess, but try to think of yourself as a work of art.
Alexandra Sacks and Catherine Birndorf. What No One Tells You: A Guide to Your Emotions from Pregnancy to Motherhood.
Everything grows rounder and wider and weirder, and I sit here in the middle of it all and wonder who in the world you will turn out to be.
Carrie Fisher.
Pregnancy is the first time many of us confront the reality that no matter how much we try to control our body, it can disobey us.
Alexandra Sacks and Catherine Birndorf. What No One Tells You: A Guide to Your Emotions from Pregnancy to Motherhood.
You should feel ambivalent about becoming a mother—just like you would about any huge life change!
Suzannah Neufeld. Awake at 3 a.m. Yoga Therapy for Anxiety and Depression in Pregnancy and Early Motherhood.
You may cycle through ten different emotions as your mind works to wrap itself around the news. Allow yourself to feel whatever comes up for you, and don't judge yourself for it. You're human. This is big news. However you respond, is okay.
If you find yourself mourning the life you led, that’s okay. Let yourself feel what you’re feeling. Don’t be afraid. Don’t try to shut it down. These feelings are valid, and so very common. Let them come into the light, and show you who they are.
Illana Stanger-Ross. A is for Advice (The Reassuring Kind): Wisdom for Pregnancy.
Our different thoughts and feelings come and go like clouds drifting across a clear blue sky. Often they dissolve and return again in new shapes and forms. So just because you feel confused and are tied up in knots at this point, it doesn’t mean, given time, that you always will be. These shifting thoughts do not equate to who you are and can be. And soon, your mind will move on somewhere else, to another place.
Naomi Chunilal. The Mindful Mother: A Practical and Spiritual Guide to Enjoying Pregnancy, Birth and Beyond with Mindfulness.
You can’t go back to exactly who you were, but you can look for a way forward that adapts your values and priorities to your new situation and new identity.
Alexandra Sacks and Catherine Birndorf. What No One Tells You: A Guide to Your Emotions from Pregnancy to Motherhood.
Be gentle with yourself. Model the compassion you have for your child by giving that compassion to yourself.
Illana Stanger-Ross. A is for Advice (The Reassuring Kind): Wisdom for Pregnancy.
Do you want to know the best thing about not having control over the perinatal period? The pressure is off! Of course we want to influence as much as we can, and to set ourselves up for success, but there is actually only so much we can do. Sigh of relief.
Natalia Hailes and Ash Spivak. Why Did No One Tell Me This?: The Doulas' (Honest) Guide for Expectant Parents.
One of the biggest lessons of pregnancy (and, later, mothering) is the need to accept what you can and can’t control. If you find yourself trying to control everything, remember that, as scary as the thought may be, perfect rule-following does not mean a perfect outcome.
Alexandra Sacks and Catherine Birndorf. What No One Tells You: A Guide to Your Emotions from Pregnancy to Motherhood.
Learning to trust and follow your gut takes time, patience, and the wisdom that you already have the answers you need to know within yourself.
Lori Bregman. The Mindful Mom-to-Be: A Modern Doula's Guide to Building a Healthy Foundation from Pregnancy Through Birth.
Your individual experience of growing, birthing, and nurturing a baby may well turn out to be wildly different from how you imagined it would be, yet you can always seek out and create inner beauty, vitality, and joy from whatever passes through it.
Naomi Chunilal. The Mindful Mother: A Practical and Spiritual Guide to Enjoying Pregnancy, Birth and Beyond with Mindfulness.
Just as a caterpillar becomes a butterfly, you are morphing into something new as well—you’ll not only give birth to a baby, you’ll also birth a part of yourself that never existed before—a mother.
Lori Bregman. The Mindful Mom-to-Be: A Modern Doula's Guide to Building a Healthy Foundation from Pregnancy Through Birth.
Some advice on advice, then: choose carefully what you listen to. And as you travel through the exhaustion and the hassle, the fear and the unpredictability, remember to laugh, and to reflect, and to spend some time just marveling at the wonder of it all.
Illana Stanger-Ross. A is for Advice (The Reassuring Kind): Wisdom for Pregnancy.
Knowing your own values and making the choice that best serves you is the best armor against any judgment that will inevitably come.
I couldn’t let go of the idea that there were Good Parents and Bad Parents, and even though I had some Good Parenting moments, I needed to learn more and buy and do more of the Right Things (whatever those may be) if I ever wanted to join the club. What I know now is that the secret to great parenting isn’t about learning or working or doing more. It’s about paying attention. […] Our ability to pay attention—to our children and ourselves—with kindness and curiosity is fundamental to effective parenting.
Carla Naumberg. Parenting in the Present Moment: How to Stay Focused on What Really Matters
Pregnancy and parenthood come with a lot of noise: advice, expectations, and images of how it’s “supposed” to look. But your experience is your own. If any of these quotes stayed with you, hold onto them. And if you ever want to explore your feelings a little more, the Moment for Parents app can help you tune out the noise and reconnect with what truly matters to you. Start your Journey today on iOS or on Android.