Pregnancy: be your biggest cheerleader and celebrate the magical journey you’re on
Beautiful mum-to-be, I celebrate you. I see you…
Can you see yourself? Do you believe in yourself?
If not, this is ok and you’re not alone, I promise.
Society has instilled fear into pregnancy culture by sharing negative stories through the generations. There’s far too much talk of the challenges and of things that don’t go to plan.
Pregnancy and birth have become a medicalised process, a conveyor belt of baby delivery. The result is that women have lost touch with the ancient wisdom that empowers pregnancy and birth to be a beautiful, sacred passage of maiden to mother.
It’s time to change this!
Yes, there’ll always be challenges but you don’t have to be defeated by them.
Choose to navigate challenges with ease and flow so you feel your absolute best during your pregnancy and motherhood journey.
Choose the holistic, mindful approach to pregnancy so you can:
find moments to celebrate every single day during your pregnancy and motherhood
learn to love yourself unconditionally, know your worth, know that you’re everything to your unborn baby and to your family
make friends with your pregnancy challenges, emotions, sickness, pain or discomforts
feel emotionally and spiritually prepared for motherhood (even if this isn’t your first baby)
feel like a Pregnant Goddess!
You’re absolutely worthy of self-love, self-worth and self-trust.
You’re doing such an amazing thing day in, day out. What’s more magical than growing a little person inside you? So, be your biggest cheerleader!
Celebrate you and release the Pregnant Goddess within you! Reconnect with your ancient wisdom!
There are two key elements to help you achieve this. Within each element there are many mindful ways to help you celebrate yourself, so you feel calm, confident and connected to yourself and your baby during pregnancy, birth and motherhood.
Try the exercises below. The more you practice, the more magic you’ll find during your pregnancy journey.
Element 1: trust your body & instincts
This piece is huge. This is about you going inwardly and blocking out the noise around you including the negative pregnancy, birth and motherhood stories friends and family love to tell you; the conflicting advice about safe food and exercise; the opinions of medics and midwives that don’t sit right but you go along with because you trust them; the marketing companies trying to sell you unnecessary baby products and so on. Listening to the external noise can make you feel fearful, anxious, overwhelmed.
Instead, remember you’re on your own pregnancy journey! Look within your heart to decide what to believe and what you truly desire. Yes, there are millions of pregnant women in the world, but this doesn’t mean that you should “just get on with it”.
Nobody else knows your body, or how you feel, like you do. You’re living your own experience and have had your own, unique life experiences to date that have influenced how you feel today. This means that your feelings and emotions are valid.
Your body knows exactly what to do to grow your baby and is doing it without you even having to think about it. When you acknowledge this fact, you feel in tune with your body and you trust your instincts. This takes practice but you’ll know it’s working when you no longer feel that you need a second opinion and when you “just know” something is right.
Journal prompt: “What external noise do I wish to block out (eg. what are people telling me that I don’t agree with)”?
Enjoy a regular guided body scan meditation – when your body is relaxed & you know how to recognise tension, this is when you can truly tap into your intuition.
Ask yourself at various times every day, “how am I feeling? Do I like feeling this way or do I desire to respond differently?”
At the end of each day, recap on how you’ve been talking to yourself. Has your inner voice been unkind, rude, critical or judgemental about any aspect of your life or appearance? Remind yourself that you are your own best friend & you deserve every kindness. When you speak kindly to yourself, your self-esteem receives a boost and you connect with your intuition.
Element 2: deeply bond with your unborn baby
It’s too easy in today’s busy world to continue rushing around doing your pre-pregnant things, but have you ever considered that your unborn baby can sense your emotions in the womb?
When you’re calm and relaxed, your unborn baby feels this too. You both feel happier and you feel deeply bonded. All your baby needs is to feel safe & loved. For your baby to feel this, & for you to form a deep bond, the ironic thing is that you must prioritise yourself and your self-care!
This is about choosing to hold space for yourself, listening to your body and, of course, trusting your instincts. This is about appreciating that pregnancy is a chapter of your life and you won’t need to slow down forever (unless you choose to). This mindset is deeply beneficial for the emotional growth of you as a mother, and your baby.
When you prioritise yourself, you feel more connected with the physical and emotional changes you’re experiencing. You naturally feel connected with what your body’s doing and why. This keeps you focused on your baby, how they feel in the womb and what you can do to enhance their developmental journey inside you.
Journal prompt: How can I make my baby feel safer and more loved in the womb?
Journal prompt: What can I do more of every day to be kind to myself?
Close your eyes, place your hands on your bump and imagine a cord from your heart to your baby’s. As you breathe in, feel love from your baby’s heart to yours. As you breathe out, feel love from your heart to your baby’s. This is a beautiful energy exchange.
Several times a day, stop what you’re doing to consciously give your bump a rub and say hi to your baby. Tell them what you’re doing or how you’re feeling. Your baby is your new best friend!
Keep being amazing, keep celebrating yourself now and always so you find the magic in your pregnancy, birth and motherhood journey. The more you open yourself to self-love, self-trust and kindness, the more magic you’ll see.
Sending you lots of love & light, beautiful Pregnant Goddess.
Words by Michele Akester-Marsh
Michele Akester-Marsh is an Intuitive Pregnancy Coach with a vision to create a ripple effect of more love & kindness in the world. This starts with unconditional self-love during pregnancy so you trust your instincts, bond deeply with your baby & are emotionally prepared for motherhood (even if this isn’t your first baby). Michele believes that motherhood starts during pregnancy & that your pregnancy choices today define your baby’s tomorrow. You are invited to download her free gift to you, “The Pregnant Goddess Playbook: 7 secrets to blossoming into the mother you dream of being” at www.micheleakester-marsh.com/pregnantgoddess
