Blog
Encouraging Pregnant Women
Thank you for coming back after a little break in blogs! Today I will be discussing something that I have noticed a lot recently: encouragement, or lack there of, of pregnant women and new moms.
I personally believe this applies to everyone, but I want to target this blog specifically towards Christians, pro-life people, women, parents, but also a society as a whole. I think we can do so much more together to support expecting and new moms.
I have noticed of late how many people are quick to point out the negative. As a society overall I think we are quicker to see the bad than the good. However, when it comes to supporting women, we need to be even quicker to hold our tongues.
I have heard too many times people say to expecting women “oh just wait…” pointing out the negative to come instead of encouraging women where they are.
I will provide some examples, not calling any one person out in particular, but explaining how these sayings might hurt.
Many say to an expecting mother “get your sleep now while you can”, or if a pregnant woman says she is tired another response may be “oh just wait until baby comes”. This is a harmful response for a few reasons. To start, it is very discouraging that things are only going to get worse, not showing the joy of being a mother. Another reason it could be hurtful is because the outsider doesn’t know what the woman is going through. Some women suffer from pregnancy insomnia and therefore cannot sleep while pregnant, and actually get more sleep postpartum. But if they are a first time mom, they may not know the insomnia may go away. So hearing it’s only going to get worse can hurt very bad because it’s already really hard for the pregnant woman.
Another “oh just wait” comment that can be hurtful is when discussing baby movement. A mom may be overjoyed with feeling baby move for the first time only to hear someone say “oh just wait until he lodges a foot in your rib”. This statement can be very negative because that could replace the joy of feeling baby move with fear of the pain or discomfort to come.
As Christians, pro-life people, or parents who love their children, this should be a time to come alongside and encourage a new or expecting mom. Society of late has tried to turn motherhood into a burden, and the “oh just wait” comments pile onto that thought process. We need to step up as a society and show that motherhood is a joy, not a burden. There is not much else that is responded to in this manner, so why respond to pregnancy this way?
We can do that better by preparing women, but not discouraging them. Parenthood is not all sunshine and rainbows, there are challenges, but we can prepare expecting moms while also sharing the joys of parenthood, which is all too often left out. We can focus on the joy amidst the struggle. Never negating the hard work, but not discouraging moms either. It’s ok to say “yes it’s hard” but don’t leave it at that, share how it’s worth it too.
What I mean by that is, if someone is tired from overworking or has a tough job, the response isn’t “oh just wait until more is expected of you then you’ll be more tired” it’s usually “oh that sucks I’m sorry”. Or if going through something happy like a promotion the response isn’t “just wait until you have to deal with some dumb employee” it’s “congratulations”. Let’s flip the script and start encouraging women instead of discouraging them, shedding a better light on motherhood.
What are other ways you can think of of how we can encourage new moms and families?
Thank you for your continued support in my new business and endeavors and I cannot wait to share more with you. If you would like to purchase any stickers, the store on my website with all my stickers I have designed is now up and running! Or if you would like a free consultation, have any questions, or just have something to say, feel free to reach out to me by my contacts page, email, or text. I look forward to where we will go together.
