Your Pregnancy: Week 22

Advice from Dr. Shari E. Brasner

Dizziness is a fairly common sensation during the second trimester, and is most likely caused by nothing more than the fact that your blood pressure has dropped and that you’re prone to a sudden drop when you change position quickly, as when you jump out of bed. Try to make movements slower and more deliberate. Standing still for a long period of time can also be a trigger, like a long line at the bank or a crowded subway train.”

Babble recommends Dr. Brasner’s pregnancy book, Advice from a Pregnant Obstetrician.

Mom-To-Mom Advice: The Pregnant Subconscious

At some point in pregnancy, you will probably start to notice that your dreams are getting weird. You may in fact be dreaming more or you may just be remembering more of your dreams than usual. Changes in your sleep cycle are the cause, but many people think the vivid dreams of pregnancy serve a very important purpose. As your body grows and changes, your dreams help your mind expand as well, preparing for the experience of parenthood.

You may be wondering just how imagining yourself scuba diving with your junior prom date while accidentally drunk might help you become a better mother, but there is a connection. Dreams in pregnancy help us reconcile our hopes and fears, using symbols that may seem bizarre at first glance, but often make more sense when examined. (You’re diving into an alien world, which demands a lot of focus and responsibility…)

Dreams are often nonsensical, but some pregnancy dreams are disturbing because they seem so unusually realistic. It’s common, for example, to dream of being blissfully happy with a different partner. Exes are known for making appearances, but your dream lover could also be someone you hardly know or someone you’d never be attracted to, or even a family member. Dreams like these can be understandably upsetting, but it’s important to realize that they are symbols, not signs to be taken literally. Chances are you aren’t dreaming of being with someone else because you want to be but because you and your real life partner have taken such a monumental step together, and your brain is processing this.

Another common dream subject is loss of control. Sometimes there’s a baby in the picture, sometimes not. Driving dreams are common. Past irresponsible behaviors can come back to haunt you in a new, scary context. Again, these dreams do not indicate anything about your future as a parent, except that being a good parent is obviously very important to you. Working out the things you are afraid of (on or under the surface) is a way of building your confidence going forward. There can also be fear dreams about the baby, such as giving birth to animals or monsters, or more realistic dreams about scary things happening to children. These are another kind of anxiety dream, recognizing that we do not have total control over the outcome of our pregnancies and our children’s eventual health and safety.

Don’t be surprised if your dreams are surprisingly sexually explicit. Hormones and increased blood flow can inspire your subconscious to go down some interesting roads. Some women even have orgasmic dreams during pregnancy.

Keeping a dream journal can help you work out what your dreams might be telling you about your subconscious. It might even be fun to read them with your kid later on, with a little editing!

Babble recommends From the Hips, by Rebecca Odes and Ceridwen Morris.

Read more about Week 22 at BabyZone’s Pregnancy Guide!