Childbirth Dream Interpretation

“There were several women in a two-section hotel room and one of the younger ladies was pregnant and close to giving birth. I pointed out all the different possible places in the room where she could lie down and have the baby. One woman was going to be the one to actually act as mid-wife, but I rushed about bringing all the necessary supplies like scissors to cut the umbilical cord, cotton balls and rubbing alcohol to disinfect the scissors, towels for the newborn.

The odd thing was that I, too, was pregnant and I could feel my own baby begin to descend through the birth canal. It was coming. Yet, my focus was on the other woman’s situation. I even held her dressed newborn in my arms as it nuzzled me and I patted its back. All the while, I felt as though I was going to give birth any minute, that the baby was halfway down.” (L.)

Childbirth dreams are common among expectant mothers and fathers as a reflection of their anticipation of the coming newborn. It is understandable that the fear and excitement would bubble over into their dream states, but what about childbirth dreams of dreamers who are not pregnant in real life?

The symbolism of being pregnant and giving birth can have nothing to do with human reproduction. Think of the metaphor of “gestating” an idea or “birthing” a new invention. The human reproduction process is the ultimate act of creation and so it is when we “give birth” to new projects. Ideas gestate then are born into physical form.

Childbirth dreams differ from pregnancy dreams in that whatever has been incubating in the dreamer’s mind is now becoming reality. It is manifesting in physical form NOW.

So, let’s look at the dream symbols of the above dream:

Dream symbols

Hotel room. Somewhere other than one’s own home.
Other women. In this dream, the appearance of other women simply refers to other women in dreamer’s life.
Woman giving birth. The creative efforts (projects, ideas, work) of a female in dreamer’s life.
Offering advice and assisting with supplies. Often indicates that dreamer is being helpful in waking life.
Another person being main support or mid-wife. Dreamer is not the only assistance in a waking life situation. Someone else is in charge or available.
Dreamer being pregnant.Dreamer is incubating his or her own project or idea.
Dreamer experiencing childbirth.Dreamer’s project is about to come to fruition.
Focus on other woman and her baby.Being distracted by someone else’s activities.
Dreamer’s newborn forthcoming.Dreamer’s project is beginning to manifest into reality.

The dream interpretation

When all the dream symbols are taken in context, it’s easy to see what’s going on here. The dreamer busies herself with helping the pregnant woman with her activities or project (childbirth) even though she herself is in the midst of giving birth to her own! The other woman has help already—the mid-wife—so the dreamer’s aid is not critical. What is critical, however, is that her own newborn is halfway down her birth canal which indicates that her own project is close to completion. Instead of getting ready for her own project’s fruition, the dreamer pays more attention to the other woman’s project (newborn).

Dream therapy

In all honesty, I must admit that this is one of my own recent dreams. When I shared it with my husband, he laughed as he saw its obvious message, and that says something as he often is clueless. “Do you see how you need to focus on your own work instead of rushing out to help everyone else?” he said.

It isn’t hard for me to say no when I don’t want to do something, but my problem is that I sincerely want to help others with whatever they need. This dream made me reflect on all of those situations where I focus on other people’s urgent needs (and there are many) instead of my own.

For example, I have several books, one of which is published, to complete and market but I have been concerned about several family members and friends’ situations with which I offer my help. This dream serves to remind me that they have another source of support (mid-wife) in their lives to draw upon so I can concentrate on birthing my own creations without distractions.