When I was pregnant I kept having the most terrifying dream. I was on the delivery table in the hospital. Bright lights were shining down on me and the doctors and nurses were scurrying around as I prepared to give birth. I sat up enough to see the top of the baby’s head emerge, covered in dark hair. Suddenly, the child’s hands crept up around his head. The fingers had claws and he used them to pull himself out, exposing his monstrous face and gnashing teeth. He started biting me and growling, scaring the nurses and the doctors. One of the doctors yelled, “we have to kill it now! Now!” In the dream, I screamed and cried in fear. Then I always woke up, my heart racing and my chest tight with panic. I felt utterly disturbed, but I wondered: was this dream symbolic of my labor fears? I set out to learn the meaning behind my awful dream.
During pregnancy, increased amounts of progesterone can make dreams much more vivid. It’s possible that my hormones combined with my fear of complications during delivery led to my terrible nightmare. The baby’s sharp claws and teeth could have represented the pain of a tear or episiotomy, something I was dreading. Dreaming about giving birth to a monster could also have reflected deep seated fears about having a baby with severe health problems or birth defects. If I gave birth to a baby with visible birth defects, would I react in fear like I did in the dream? Perhaps, the meaning was a little more practical. At the time, I was very concerned about unnecessary interventions. The doctor’s orders to “kill it now!” could have been a symbol of my fear that hospital staff would take action “against” my baby without my permission. I questioned how much control I would have over my delivery, and my fear of being helpless was definitely reflected in the dream.
Have you ever had a strange dream or a nightmare about your pregnancy? What was it about? What do you think it meant?