Published on July 7th, 2021 and Updated on February 29th, 2024
When you’re trying to get pregnant, your daydreams about your future little one may take up plenty of your quiet waking moments. When you do find out you’re pregnant, your sleeping dreams may result in a lot of questions:
“I dreamed my baby had two heads! Is this a sign I’m having twins?”
“What does it mean if I gave birth to kittens in my dream?”
“Wow, that’s the third time this week I’ve been dreaming of having a girl (or a boy). Does that mean I should start working on that baby name list?”
While we may not have answers to all of your pregnancy dream-related questions, we can illuminate what dreaming of your baby’s gender might mean.
Sleep 101
You may have done some online research and found an old wive’s’ tale or two that gives meaning to your dreams about a baby’s gender, but it’s important to decipher fact from fiction.
Despite being a source of fascination, dreams are still a bit of a mystery to scientists. Researchers understand how the brain functions while we sleep, but little is known about why we dream.
To explain what we know, learning a little bit more about sleeping can be helpful.
The mind is active even when you’re sleeping and cycles through two stages of sleep:
- NREM (non-rapid eye movement)
- REM (rapid eye movement)
The sleep cycle helps the body restore and reset itself for the waking hours ahead, but each stage has different functions.
NREM Sleep
About 75% of your sleep is NREM. During NREM sleep, your brain waves, heart rate, and eye movements slow down as you prepare to enter a night of deep sleep. Some of the ways your body uses NREM sleep include:
- Healing and repairing tissues in your body
- Building muscles and bones
- Strengthening the immune system
REM Sleep
The remaining 25% of your night’s snooze is REM sleep. During this stage of sleep, your body is at rest while your mind is busy performing vital tasks, such as:
- Consolidating and processing new information
- Regulating moods
- Improving concentration abilities
Dreams can happen at any point while you’re asleep, but dreams mainly occur during the REM phase. A bizarre dream tends to happen in the REM stage, and this is because while your body is at rest, your brain is working the night shift. Brain activity is considerably higher in REM sleep in comparison to NREM sleep. Since dreams are brain-powered, it makes sense that your dreams get an extra technicolor boost during this stage of sleep.
Understanding Dreams
Sleep sets the stage for our dreams. What are dreams, anyway? If you asked a biologist, she might say that dreams are mental activities that occur during unconsciousness or sleep.
Dreams are the brain creating vivid experiences while we’re snug in our bed (or enjoying a pregnancy nap on the couch). What’s even more remarkable is that the brain is excellent at imitating the real-life sensations of the experiences, not just visual ones.
Your dreams can engage your physical and mental senses. You might experience:
- Sounds
- Smells
- Tastes
- Touch
- Images
- Feelings or emotions
- Thoughts
Again, why do we dream?
Though a lot of research has been done on the subject, scientists still don’t quite know for sure what the purpose of dreams are for our minds and bodies. Some scientists argue that dreams are just a side-effect of brain activity during sleep. Others have different (and far more interesting) ideas.
Some popular dream theories include:
- Dreams let us review and process emotions and recent events in our lives.
- Dreams consolidate current events into memories and strengthen our ability to recall information.
- Dreams discard or clean up unnecessary information in the brain.
What do dreams about baby gender mean?
Short answer: you’re a pregnant woman and can’t wait to know more about your little one, including their gender!
Biologically speaking, there’s no concrete proof that your dreams of a baby boy mean you’ll be bouncing a little guy on your lap in a few months’ time.
However, psychologically speaking, the dreams you have while pregnant may reveal more about the inner workings of your mind and mental health.
Psychologists theorize that our dreams get their material from our waking thoughts. Granted, those daytime thoughts might get remixed by the time we reach REM (dreams can be very strange), but there are seeds of insight in even the silliest dreams.
Once you’re pregnant, it’s natural for your thoughts to become 80% thinking about your baby, 10% thinking about your next snack, and 10% wanting a nap. Since dreams are how we process our thoughts and emotions, if you’re spending your waking hours daydreaming about your baby, you might end up having multiple dreams about your baby as well.
Here are a few common pregnancy dreams, along with some general psychological interpretations:
- Oh no! I left the baby on the motorcycle, a.k.a. “oops dreams” – If you’ve been dreaming of making some parenting mistakes, (everything from forgetting to feed your baby to leaving her on a rocketship), this is totally normal. Daytime worries about ensuring your child is safe and well can manifest in your dreams. It may also indicate you’re feeling a little nervous about the big responsibility of parenthood (don’t be, you’ve got this!).
- Dreamy cuddles, a.k.a. dreams about spending time with your baby – You might be dreaming of snuggle time with your little one, the warmth and weight of your snoozy baby so real in your dreams, you have to check under the bed to see if she’s rolled under there when you wake up. In the same way, you pre-bond with your little one by reading her stories or preparing the nursery, cuddle dreams might be your brain’s way of practicing real-life bonding with your baby.
- It’s a boy! a.k.a. dreams about your baby’s gender – When you have gender dreams of your little one and clearly see you’ve got a boy, it might mean your heart is hoping for one particular baby gender. Or that you’ve been thinking and wondering about your baby’s gender consistently in your waking hours and are so excited to settle on a baby name.
How Pregnancy Affects Dreams
Pregnancy will impact many areas of your life, from your shoe size to your sense of smell. Dreams are no exception. Suppose you’re pregnant and experiencing many more pregnancy-related dreams than usual or even more vivid dreams. In that case, this is quite common. Many women report changes in their dreams during pregnancy.
1. REM Sleep Disruptions
One big reason why you might be experiencing more vivid dreams during pregnancy is the disruption to your REM cycle. Dreams often occur during REM sleep, but if you wake up in the middle of the cycle, you’re more likely to remember those strange dreams.
REM sleep interruptions can often happen for an expectant mother or pregnant women, because, to put it bluntly, you’re growing a whole other human being inside of you! That means your body has a lot to adjust to, even as you sleep. As a result, you may wake up in the middle of a REM cycle to visit the bathroom, adjust a sleeping position to accommodate your growing pregnant belly, or marvel at the baby’s midnight kick.
2. Hormones
Your hormones change drastically during these nine months; many think increased pregnancy hormone levels could explain the cause of unusual pregnancy dreams and leave you with a disrupted sleep pattern.
Hormones influence how your brain processes information and emotions, which can explain vivid pregnancy dreams.
3. Stress & Anxiety
It is no surprise that stress and worries come hand in hand with pregnancy which can explain any anxiety dreams you may have.
Many believe your pregnancy dreams are a way for your unconscious mind to try to problem-solve, and these effects of stress can result in a vivid dream or nightmare.
What can you do if there is a problem?
A bad dream can keep you up all night, filled with fear and anxiety. If you keep having unpleasant dreams or frequent nightmares, the best thing to do is talk through your emotions or keep a dream journal to help see your concerns, and in most cases, there’s nothing to worry about. It can also be helpful to stick to a sleep pattern that works for you and follow our tips and tricks listed below to navigate through your vivid dreams during pregnancy:
Sleeping Like A Baby (While You’re Making One): Tips for Sleeping While Pregnant
Whatever your pregnancy dreams mean, try to get enough sleep while pregnant. After all, the miracle of life is hard work, and ensuring you’re well-rested is a key part of helping you and your baby stay healthy.
If you’re having trouble sleeping or staying asleep, try these tips so that you can sleep like a baby:
- Take warm baths or showers before bedtime.
- Sleep on your left side to improve blood flow to your baby and womb.
- Use pillows to support your pregnant body.
- Stay hydrated throughout the day, and stop drinking water about 90 minutes before sleeping.
- Take short naps throughout the day.
- Try bedtime meditation podcasts to help you relax, ease the mind and avoid scary dreams.
- Consult a doctor or therapist if you have persistent trouble sleeping or experience an intense, recurring nightmare.
- Regular physical exercise at least 3 days per week, including stretching
- Stop screen time 30 minutes prior to falling asleep.
- Deep-breathing exercises
- Limiting caffeine intake
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This post has been reviewed for accuracy by the following medical professional:
Dr. Heather Soper, Certified Nurse Midwife
Dr. Heather Soper brings over 15 years of experience in women's health and obstetrics to her role as the owner of The Genesis Resort for Birth. Complementing her clinical practice, she serves as an Assistant Professor of Nursing at James Madison University, where she educates nursing students with a focus on compassionate, patient-centered care. Her advanced training and dedication to midwifery are evident in her contribution to both academia and the wellness of expectant mothers
Sources:
- Cleveland Clinic. Sleep Basics: REM & NREM, Sleep Stages, Good Sleep Habits & More https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/12148-sleep-basics
- National Sleep Foundation. What is REM Sleep? https://www.thensf.org/what-is-rem-sleep/
- Sleep Foundation. Dreams: Why We Dream & How They Affect Sleep. https://www.sleepfoundation.org/dreams
- The Journal of the American Board of Family Practice, March-April 1993. The Pregnancy-Related Dreams of
- Pregnant Women. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8452063/
- Sleep Medicine, June 2014. Disturbed Dreaming During the Third Trimester of Pregnancy. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24780135/
- Sleep Foundation. Pregnancy & Sleep: Tips, Sleep Positions, & Issues. https://www.sleepfoundation.org/pregnancy
- Neuroscience, Second Edition 2001. The Possible Functions of REM Sleep and Dreaming. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK11121/
- Sleep.org. Is What You’re Eating Affecting Your Dreams? https://www.sleep.org/is-what-youre-eating-affecting-your-dreams/
- Sleep Foundation. Vivid Dreams: Causes and Tips. https://www.sleepfoundation.org/dreams/vivid-dreams
- What to Expect. Pregnancy Dreams and Pregnancy Sex Dreams. https://www.whattoexpect.com/pregnancy/symptoms-and-solutions/pregnancy-dreams-and-daydreams/
- Sleep Foundation. Sleeping While Pregnant: Tips. https://www.sleepfoundation.org/pregnancy/tips-for-better-sleep
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SneakPeek aims to provide the most accurate and up-to-date information to help our readers make informed decisions regarding their health before, during, and after pregnancy. This article was written based upon trusted scientific research studies and/or articles. Credible information sources for this article are cited and hyperlinked.
