The Joy Of Pregnancy

Pregnancy is a time of great anticipation. From the moment you watch the line develop on the pregnancy test until you hold your baby for the first time, there are many memorable and joyful moments you’ll experience.

For most women, the joy of pregnancy begins with the positive pregnancy test. Maybe you’ve been planning a pregnancy for some time and have struggled to conceive, or maybe conception was easy for you. Perhaps it was even a surprise. But however you came to this point, the feeling when you realize that a new person – a completely unique human being – is coming to life through you is both joyful and magical.

Unfortunately, the first few months of pregnancy can be difficult for some women. Morning sickness is common, as is fatigue as your body prepares to grow and develop your baby. However, there is some joy to be had in the realization that morning sickness is usually an indication that the mother's hormones are strong and that the pregnancy is usually going to continue without problem.

At some point during those first few months, you’ll get to hear your baby's heartbeat for the first time. That familiar “whoosh, whoosh, whoosh,” sound is both joyful and comforting. For many couples, the pregnancy may have been largely academic up until this point. There’s something about hearing your baby's heartbeat that makes the more experience more real and more moving.

Hearing your baby is a joy that’s soon followed by seeing your baby for the first time. Ultrasounds vary greatly in their ability to provide a picture that looks anything like a baby, but most of us can recognize the skeletal features of even the fuzziest pictures. In a real time ultrasound, you can even see your baby move – perhaps even suck its thumb! These glimpses of the little person that’s growing inside you are certainly joyful moments that you’ll treasure forever.

You’ll soon begin to feel your baby move. If this is your first pregnancy, you may not recognize the feeling at first. Very quickly, however, you’ll learn that these fluttering, bubbly movements you’re experiencing are your child moving – a process that’s traditionally called the quickening.

As your pregnancy continues, you’ll enjoy preparing for your baby's arrival. Whatever your budget, you’ll need to outfit a nursery and purchase baby clothes – a process called nesting that only builds most women’s anticipation of the impending delivery. You may also be learning about breastfeeding and preparing for childbirth. During the third trimester, you’ll continue to enjoy feeling your baby grow and move and you’ll probably have additional opportunities to see the baby on ultrasound and hear its heartbeat.

This all leads up to the final joy of pregnancy – holding your baby in your arms for the first time. Labor and delivery is hard work, yet it’s work with a purpose. A growing number of women are choosing to embrace this woman's work without the use of surgery or medications, opting to be able to hold and nurse their baby as soon as it is born. However you choose to proceed with your delivery, the joys of pregnancy will soon be behind you and you’ll move seamlessly into the new joys that motherhood will bring.