8 Great Things Pregnant Women Have in Common

Feeling the movement of new life

Women have been trying to describe the feeling of their baby moving inside them for a very long time, and while these descriptions are detailed and accurate, there's no way someone can understand them without having felt it for themselves. It's not just the physical sensation either. It's feeling them respond to specific stimuli. It may be music or a voice. Babies know their mother's voice, but they can recognize other voices as well. It may be their father, a close friend, or a family member. Babies can hear so much more than we think they can. Many women will notice their little one moving for certain types of music as well. They will become more active or calm. You can also learn your baby's schedule as you feel them moving at the same times every day. Even foods can elicit movement. If you drink something cold or eat something spicy, your baby is likely to move around because they notice it. It's a constant reminder that there is a little person in there who is learning about the world through the limited access they have to it.

Recognizing your baby's likes and dislikes

As mentioned above, babies will move for different things. One of the greatest things about being pregnant is discovering what they seem to like and dislike. Yes, their movements are a big indicator of this, but pregnant women also have this new instinct of what their baby likes. Sometimes it will be difficult to explain it to someone else. A baby can become more active due to happiness or agitation. You might say one day, "I don't want to listen to that because my baby is moving more," then the next day you may say, "Oh, my baby really likes sriracha. He's moving more!" To someone without that instinct, it won't make sense, but they really do move differently and as the mother, you can usually tell. You have this ingrained sense of whether they're happy or not. There's nothing more satisfying than knowing your little one is experiencing something they like for the first time.

It's an incomparable opportunity for improvements

All women go through a need to plan, whether it's simply daydreaming of the perfect nursery, needing to rearrange the entire home, or changing your kitchen to satisfy healthier habits. Our bodies want us to improve ourselves and our environment in preparation for our baby's arrival. Most of us will already feel a strong bond to our baby and even for those who don't yet there is this desire to make things better. You want to bring them into a safer, more appealing world. Many women will almost become obsessive, doing things like folding the baby's new clothes in several different ways or demanding their partner move the nursery furniture. Some women will completely change their diets and start eating healthier and reading labels more. Wherever your desire for improvement takes you, being pregnant is one of the best times to reshape your habits and keep them going. Nobody questions your motives. Being a mother is enough reason to improve your life and your home.

Motherhood bonds women together

One of the greatest things of all is the bond mothers feel. There's an understanding and connection. Yes, it can lead to a lot of unwarranted or even bad advice, but the advice is given because someone cares about you and your baby. They want to share what they think is best because there is a desire to help. Women who are pregnant or who have had children feel a small bit of comradery. We've been through one of the most difficult and most rewarding experiences anyone can go through. We want each other to succeed. When we hear there is a complication with another woman's pregnancy, we feel fear for her. When we hear she's getting close to delivering or just found out she's pregnant, we feel excited. It makes us recall how we felt while we went through those things, and it brings a level of empathy that you can only gain through shared experience.

Connects you to your roots

In much the same way that it brings women together, pregnancy also makes you think about where you came from. Women who are pregnant have a stronger desire to connect with their own mothers and to know about their ancestry. Sometimes this desire only extends into wanting to know what pregnancy and delivery were like for the more mature women in your family and sometimes it creates a need to understand cultural traditions. In any case, knowing about your family's health is a good idea in order to understand potential health concerns for your baby. Many women will experience similar delivery and birth as their mothers experienced so that knowledge is a good thing to have. It's also important to understand the struggles and accomplishments of those women who came before you in order to understand how strong and capable you are. Pregnancy can make us feel powerful and beautiful, but it can also make us feel scared and vulnerable. Knowing how those women made it through everything is a source of inspiration and confidence

Tracking the growth/milestones helps you and others

Being pregnant can seem like the longest time in your life while you're going through it. You want it to be over so much because you want to meet this little person face to face. Once it's over with, however, you feel like it went by so quickly. During your pregnancy, so much is changing in your life and in your body. It helps you realize how much and how quickly it's happening when you utilize a women's health tracker to mark those milestones and how you're changing. It's something you can look back at over and over. It also helps us when we're trying to help a friend or younger woman who is going through it as well. Keeping track of the changes commits it to memory better. When someone we love is pregnant and has questions, we will be able to reference or recall our own experiences in greater detail. For women who have those family histories of complications, keeping track will also help you recognize if something may need to be discussed with your doctor. Overall, keeping tabs on those moments of growth and change allows you to understand your pregnancy better.

You see a new/kinder side to the world

From carrying things for you to opening doors, people tend to treat pregnant women differently. Humans have an instinct to protect those who are pregnant or who are carrying children. Most social animals do. Complete strangers will suddenly be nicer or more considerate. Everyone you come across will want you to have a successful and happy pregnancy and childbirth. Family members will become more involved in your life and friends will want to help you prepare for the big day that your little one is born. You will notice that random people will become concerned about your well-being and want to make sure you are not overexerting yourself. Just like you will get unneeded advice from other mothers, you will also get it from those who have no clue what they're talking about. While it sometimes crosses the line of being inappropriate, it usually comes from a place of well-meaning. People want you to be healthy, happy, and safe. They want your little one to come into the world as easily as possible. There will be a lot of people who will be working hard to make sure your pregnancy and birth are as problem-free as possible, from the nurse who checks you in to a midwife who brings equipment just in case.

You become a source of joy

Because so many people are rooting for you, you will notice that they take joy in your pregnancy too. Women who have experienced it will reminisce when they see you, and women who are trying will look forward to creating those memories. Men will remember their wives being pregnant and holding their own little ones. Small children who are old enough to understand will look in awe at the fact that you're carrying a baby in your belly. You simply being pregnant creates a happiness and expectation in others that very few things can. You become a symbol for potential, and others recognize that potential. Soon to be grandparents will anticipate the addition to the family with excitement and fathers will be filled with pride and determination to be good examples and better people. It's an incredible time when you can elicit others to feelings of such hope.

Being pregnant certainly comes with its challenges. It can be a trying time, even for the most prepared among us. However, it can unite and create the most incredible moments we will ever experience. Indeed, it's not easy to carry, deliver, and raise a child, but there is nothing more rewarding than watching your little one grow from the first moment you know that spark of life is inside you. Many face problems and health scares, but once that little baby is in your arms everything will have been worth it. Women who experience pregnancy share an experience that is impossible to understand unless you have felt it. It can be the greatest moment of your life, at least until you're holding that little one in your arms.