pregnantIt would nice if pregnancy was one long, idyllic, peaceful time of preparation to grow our babies and bask in the beauty of the experience. And part of it is for most, but it's also wrought with STRESS. Some of us worry more than others, but I'm confident there's not a pregnant woman who has ever walked waddled this earth that has remained worry-free for her entire pregnancy.

It's likely biological as the body prepares for all the worries the years of motherhood bring when children start walking and talking, and falling and breaking bones, and ....

Of course, much of it is out of our control, and we know worry won't solve anything, but it doesn't make it any easier to stop. The most comforting thing, however, is to know that you're not alone in your worry. So in light of that, here are 25 of the things most pregnant women worry about regarding the arrival of their new baby:

1. Your water will break in the middle of the mall.

2. You won't make it to the hospital in time.

3. Natural birth will be WAY more painful than you anticipated.

4. The epidural won't work.

5. Early labor.

6. You will be in labor for weeks ... months ...

7. Your birth won't go as planned (e.g. you want a natural birth, but end up having to have a c-section).

8. You will give birth to an extra baby nobody noticed during all the ultrasounds.

9. You will give birth to the opposite gender child than you were told you were having and for whom you prepared.

10. The hospital will mix your baby up with someone else's child.

11. Your baby won't be pretty.

12. Your baby will be HUGE.

13. The doctor will be grossed out by your hairy legs/chipped toenail polish.

14. You will poo on the delivery room table.

15. The baby will have a serious birth defect.

16. Dying during childbirth.

17. Stillbirth.

18. The car ride home from the hospital.

19. Colic.

20. He or she won't like you.

21. You won't be able to breastfeed.

22. Dropping him or her.

23. That his or her sibling(s) will feel left out and unloved.

24. They were wrong, you're not pregnant; you just got fat.

25. That all your stressing has negatively affected your baby.

What do you/did you worry about most while pregnant?


Image via Tony the Misfit/Flickr