In terms of fantasy quotient, pregnant women's dreams and nightmares can make Steven Spielberg look pale. I used to boast about having the soundest sleep in the world with no recollection whatsoever of any dreams at all...and then I got preggie and this self image that I had created so painstakingly, got shattered into a million dreams!!
I have now been made capable by my pregnant state to see the most weird and fantastic dreams and nightmares that have included the following till date - horror (most common theme); thrill; sex; drama; comic book heroes who have by some scientific experiment become pregnant (imagine Phantom pregnant); lions; Salman Khan (don't ask me why); science fiction plots involving babies with special powers; my boss (again, don't ask me why); my husband and the rest of the family; vampires; babies with tails; forest; toilet; ultrasound images in technicolour; my baby getting exchanged for another one in the hospital;... and some other unmentionable ones... Yes...that sums it all, at least till now.
Obviously, having being jolted to wakefulness almost every night by this weirdness, the researcher in me got interested in this topic (sleeplessness being the other factor besides academic curiosity) and I studied at least a dozen articles about 'pregnancy and dreams'. I was amazed to discover the wealth of information that 's available (it seems as if pregnant women do nothing else but dream). There are websites and research articles dedicated to this topic, that tell you the interpretation of these dreams... for example what it means if you see 2 kittens; 5 cubs; 9 armed babies etc in your dreams (yes- to that last detail).
The websites claimed that the themes of most dreams are common among pregnant people, probably because all of us go through a similar gamut of anxiety and hormonal ups and downs. Dreams of preggie women have also been classified as 1st, 2nd and 3rd trimester dreams for purposes of systematic research - really, I had no idea that what I was experiencing was worth such extensive scientific research. So, I felt like a wonderful citizen of the world when I contributed two of my bizarre dreams to one such online forum in order to add to their collection (felt so fulfilled - my pregnancy dreams would be discussed and investigated and will help the world on its way to a new scientific era where people would understand dreams seen by pregnant women!).
The best part was how relieved I felt when I read the dreams that other pregnant women had posted. All my fears were put at rest about any of my horrifying dreams ever coming true as the ones seen by some other women crossed all boundaries of bizarre. A new Oscar for best imagination needs to be instituted for some of these pregnant women!!
I am not sharing my dreams here as some of them have the potential to make people sick and I don't want you all spending the rest of the month cleaning the crevices of your keyboards. But I will let you know the six commonest themes that most women see:
Yes most of the dreams are actually nightmares but they come with the pregnancy package...so, 'sweet and sour dreams to you dear preggies!!'
The scientific explanation for these vivid dreams is, 'the anxiety and apprehension of the pregnant woman (regarding changes in her life/ body; or about the safe arrival of her baby; or its health etc) manifests into dreams'..of course- this does not explain my seeing Salman Khan in a dream. But then you can't explain everything in life! Can you? :-)
Some images from my dreams:
Some interesting websites about pregnancy and dreams if you want to research further:
I have now been made capable by my pregnant state to see the most weird and fantastic dreams and nightmares that have included the following till date - horror (most common theme); thrill; sex; drama; comic book heroes who have by some scientific experiment become pregnant (imagine Phantom pregnant); lions; Salman Khan (don't ask me why); science fiction plots involving babies with special powers; my boss (again, don't ask me why); my husband and the rest of the family; vampires; babies with tails; forest; toilet; ultrasound images in technicolour; my baby getting exchanged for another one in the hospital;... and some other unmentionable ones... Yes...that sums it all, at least till now.
Obviously, having being jolted to wakefulness almost every night by this weirdness, the researcher in me got interested in this topic (sleeplessness being the other factor besides academic curiosity) and I studied at least a dozen articles about 'pregnancy and dreams'. I was amazed to discover the wealth of information that 's available (it seems as if pregnant women do nothing else but dream). There are websites and research articles dedicated to this topic, that tell you the interpretation of these dreams... for example what it means if you see 2 kittens; 5 cubs; 9 armed babies etc in your dreams (yes- to that last detail).
The websites claimed that the themes of most dreams are common among pregnant people, probably because all of us go through a similar gamut of anxiety and hormonal ups and downs. Dreams of preggie women have also been classified as 1st, 2nd and 3rd trimester dreams for purposes of systematic research - really, I had no idea that what I was experiencing was worth such extensive scientific research. So, I felt like a wonderful citizen of the world when I contributed two of my bizarre dreams to one such online forum in order to add to their collection (felt so fulfilled - my pregnancy dreams would be discussed and investigated and will help the world on its way to a new scientific era where people would understand dreams seen by pregnant women!).
The best part was how relieved I felt when I read the dreams that other pregnant women had posted. All my fears were put at rest about any of my horrifying dreams ever coming true as the ones seen by some other women crossed all boundaries of bizarre. A new Oscar for best imagination needs to be instituted for some of these pregnant women!!
I am not sharing my dreams here as some of them have the potential to make people sick and I don't want you all spending the rest of the month cleaning the crevices of your keyboards. But I will let you know the six commonest themes that most women see:
- Water : ocean, bowl of water, toilet bowl, fish in water, swimming pool etc (related with anxiety/ knowledge about baby swimming in the amniotic fluid)
- Husband/ Partner with other women :mostly super-models with silicon largely figuring in their figures (related with insecurity about your changing body/weight gain etc)
- Appearance of baby or Baby in distress : baby as a kitten/cub/dinosaur - anything but human; being born with excessive hair; born an adult; being exchanged for another baby in the hospital; having more than required body parts; torturous delivery with a painful expression on the baby's face; baby plopping into the toilet bowl while you are going on with your daily tasks etc (and you thought that horror films were scary!!!) (seen by almost all preggie women - the good news is that there is substantial research to show that this is the best way to release anxiety and tension that women have about their unborn babies and women who see such dreams mostly have hassle free deliveries!)
- Evolution: seeing one celled creatures changing shapes and sizes till they reach human form - passing from fish...reptile...amphibian... avian...to mammalian state (signifies the process of the baby growing inside the womb starting from a single cell)
- Freedom: seeing open fields, airplanes, kites, yourself running or participating in adventure sports such as sky diving etc (signifying anxiety about new role as parent and loss of current independence. Fathers- to be also see these dreams!)
- Change: a new room or balcony in your house; a new car; you staying in another city; you as a queen/ some other profession; you and your partner being reborn as some animals/aliens etc (I know this is weird) (signifies a new event about to happen in life - the baby)
Yes most of the dreams are actually nightmares but they come with the pregnancy package...so, 'sweet and sour dreams to you dear preggies!!'
The scientific explanation for these vivid dreams is, 'the anxiety and apprehension of the pregnant woman (regarding changes in her life/ body; or about the safe arrival of her baby; or its health etc) manifests into dreams'..of course- this does not explain my seeing Salman Khan in a dream. But then you can't explain everything in life! Can you? :-)
Some images from my dreams:
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| Well I saw a pregnant Phantom and Diana feeding him fruit |
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| Lions and me giving birth to lion cubs - a litter! |
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| I saw a toilet bowl and also the baby plopping in it! |
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| Yes I saw Salman Khan - three times - each time without his shirt and with a baby! |
Some interesting websites about pregnancy and dreams if you want to research further:
interesting subject
ReplyDeleteThis article reminds me of the moment when I holded my son for the first time in my arms,was sooooo relieved seeing that he doesn't look like the horror faces I used to see in my dreams when I was carrying him :)
ReplyDeleteOnce again great writing style.Though the second part is bit like any other google-search-result-reading !
ReplyDeleteAnyway keep it up.
The amount of pregnancy related information I have been subjected to... by you...has caused me to dream that the whole "world" is a "pregnant woman"!! Now how weird is that?!!!
ReplyDeleteyou know that's why its round!!
ReplyDeletei know why salman khan...u used to sing salman khan songs to mishti to put her to sleep...now i will repeat it with u...let the time come...or i think ur boy(sorry) will have dole shole like salman when he will be born
ReplyDelete;)
yes....I remember now...Mish used to love those songs!!! :-)))))))))
ReplyDeleteand now I'm going to write your name in the 'Boy' list..
@gauri tiwari: it's a girl..not a boy.you are just a kiddo you dont know anything.
ReplyDelete@anand : Dream...dream...
ReplyDeletethis surpasses all my queer dreams for sure ;) keep writin n spreading d cheer KT...luv
ReplyDelete