Читать книгу The Element Encyclopedia of 20,000 Dreams: The Ultimate A–Z to Interpret the Secrets of Your Dreams - Theresa Cheung, Theresa Cheung - Страница 334

If you are a woman and you dream of giving birth, the first question to ask yourself is do you actually want to get pregnant? If you do, your dream may be an example of wish-fulfillment. The purpose of your unconscious was probably to fulfill your fervent desire for all to go well. There have also been recorded instances of women and men dreaming about the birth of a baby before they even knew they were expecting; somehow the dream was a response to the presence of an actual fetus, not yet detected by doctors and pregnancy tests. If you are pregnant and you dream that labor and delivery was difficult, it probably reflects anxieties about the impending birth. The same applies to dreams about giving birth to an animal; they are simply mirroring your concerns and anxieties. If you are a prospective father, your dream may also be depicting your hopes and fears for the welfare of your unborn child.

If you are not pregnant, birth dreams can indicate a desire for children but are more likely to represent something else in waking life. The birth of a child signals a new beginning and the emergence of new life; in dreams the meaning is much the same: a new way of life, a new attitude, a new discovery, a new project and so on. If you hear about a birth, or watch or witness a birth in your dream, this also suggests the beginning of a new and fruitful cycle in your life. Birth dreams therefore are an expression of big changes that have been occurring for a long period of time. Did the dream delivery go well or was it difficult? Again, the answer may indicate the likely ease of turning your hopes into reality. If this doesn’t apply, then dream births may symbolize your brain child, perhaps an idea or a project you are longing to complete successfully.

Alternatively, did your dream focus on one aspect of birth—the umbilical cord, for example? If the cord was wrapped

Birth dreams during pregnancy

Pregnancy is one of the most life-changing, and physically and emotionally demanding challenges a woman can face in her lifetime. Research shows that the dreams of pregnant women can comment on the physical, psychological and emotional issues she has to deal with. The most common dream themes at this time concern animals and water. In the early stages of the pregnancy, these dreams may be gentle and calming, but towards the end of the pregnancy they can be traumatic or even become nightmares. Such alarming dreams are considered a normal reaction to the anxiety every woman unconsciously feels about her unborn baby and about giving birth.

It is also very common for pregnant women to dream about having the baby and these dreams are again often bizarre and disturbing; for example, dreaming about a baby that is born dead, malformed or with a monster’s head. It has been suggested that such anxiety dreams serve a purpose: they release a lot of unconscious tension and fear, allowing the mother to be more relaxed at birth.

around the baby’s neck, this may indicate that your ideas are being strangled or in danger of being strangled. If the cord was neatly severed, this can indicate that your ideas have been cut free and are now independent of you. If there were problems cutting the cord, this could be a symbol of a grown-up family that is beginning to leave home. Or it may be that you yourself are finding it hard to fly the family nest and branch out on your own. If you are not able to see your baby after a difficult labor, this can indicate that you are laboring in vain in waking life and aren’t being rewarded by the sight of your mental offspring.