When you’re preparing for pregnancy, most advice will focus on preparing your body. But motherhood is just as much a spiritual transformation as a physical one. If you’re hoping to get pregnant in the near future, here are 3 ways to prepare your soul and spirit as well as your body.
1Spend more time with God.
Parenthood is going to stretch you in new ways, so before embarking on this wild ride, make it a regular habit to talk to God and listen for His answers. Now is an ideal time to deepen your prayer life, frequent the sacraments as much as you are able, and strengthen your friendship with Christ.
Truly, the single most important thing you can do to prepare for pregnancy is to surrender your will to God’s will and accept whatever happens, even if it’s not what you had in mind. So much of parenting, and even pregnancy and birth, are wildly outside of your control, perhaps to a degree you’ve never before experienced. Conception may take much longer than you expect, or may never happen at all; your pregnancy and birth may come with unforeseen health issues; and when your baby is born, you can be sure that their behavior won’t be exactly what you expect either, whether because they don’t sleep through the night for a while, or because they have epic toddler tantrums at the grocery store.
It’s going to be a wild ride, but you can rely on prayer and unity with God to be your unfailing source of peace and solace as a parent. Start building those habits now, especially as it may be harder to find time once you’re chasing around a little one!
2Spend more time with your husband.
When you’re pregnant and postpartum, it’s so easy and natural to focus on the new addition that your marriage may be pushed to the back burner. On top of that, you’ll likely have less time alone together once you’re parents. So now is the perfect time to turn your full attention to enjoying each other and strengthening your marriage.
You might read through a great marriage book together, or watch lots of funny TV shows and laugh a lot. How you spend this time is unique to you as a couple, but you can be sure you won’t regret this time spent together, and will be grateful for your close bond once you’re parenting side by side.
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3Boost your health and nutrition.
Many women don’t know that they should be taking a prenatal vitamin before they even get pregnant, ideally at least 3 months before, as certain nutrients play a major role in the baby’s neural development at the very earliest stages (before most women even know they’re pregnant!). If you’re not already, you’ll want to start eating a healthy diet with plenty of vegetables, fruit, and protein. After all, when you’re pregnant, taking care of yourself is also a way to care for your child.
Anything you can do now to boost your health and prepare physically for pregnancy will be well worth the effort. Later on, you may have times in pregnancy when the only thing you can stomach eating is bland carbs, or when you can’t keep anything down at all, so it helps to get good nutrition ahead of time.
You may also want to visit the dentist, as many dental treatments, X-rays, and medications are off-limits when you’re pregnant. On top of that, gum disease is related to pregnancy complications. Get a clean bill of dental health to be fully prepared for pregnancy.
Becoming a parent is an experience unlike any other, and hopefully these suggestions can help you prepare for becoming a mother. As long as you rely on God and His grace to guide your parenting, you can’t go wrong. Good luck!
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5 Ways to prepare spiritually for parenthood
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