Why They Help and How To Use Them

Have you ever faced a scary life challenge and found that simply saying “I can do this” repeatedly helps you through it? That’s called using self-affirmations, a mindfulness technique, and it works! Science backs the use of affirmations because the results are clear. As reported by the National Library of Medicine (NLM), studies have shown that “self-affirmations can restore self-competence by allowing individuals to reflect on sources of self-worth” and that participants’ brain activity even proved the effect of affirmations. Those who self-affirmed “showed increased activity in key regions of the brain’s self-processing and valuation,” the NLM says.¹ Knowing how effective they are (and how easy they are to use!), it’s not surprising that a pregnant woman can use positive affirmations or have a mantra for the often long and tiring weeks of pregnancy.

Pregnancy affirmations are positive statements a pregnant woman can say to herself repeatedly to boost her self-confidence and cope with the pain and physical challenges of pregnancy. Personally, when life has been challenging for me, I need to hear that I am strong and capable — and self-affirmations can help me believe that about myself. My three pregnancies were such times in my life when I needed a boost. Pregnancy affirmations empower the mother to center herself on the life she’s growing inside her and reaffirm her belief that she is strong.

From helping with pain management to improving the pregnant mother’s mental health, pregnancy affirmations have many benefits to the overall well-being of the mom-to-be. Here are six ways that pregnancy affirmations can positively affect the experience of pregnancy:

1. Provide Pain and Sickness Management

Having been through it three times, I can attest firsthand to the pain and discomfort of pregnancy. While I didn’t get sick often (thankfully!), I recall one particular morning, pregnant with my second, hugging the toilet while my toddler asked for fruit snacks and “Thomas the Train.” I needed strength. I needed encouragement. That’s when pregnant women need affirmations — on the most exhausting days. The days of nausea. The days of swollen feet and ankles, heartburn, and constant pressure on your bladder.

Pain and discomfort during pregnancy are often linked to stress and anxiety — it’s hard to be calm when you’re hurting. But a pregnancy mantra can help. Although affirmations aren’t going to “control” the pain, they help you train your brain to work through it. And remember that the pain of pregnancy often means your body is doing its job — your ligaments are stretching, and your baby is growing in there! “Think of the tension and pain as signals for you to work towards coping with your pain,” Hamilton Health Sciences explains.²

Birth affirmations are effective tools to help calm the mind and body, increasing the likelihood of faster labor without complications. But particularly for a pregnant woman or a mother who hasn’t used affirmations before, it’s a good idea to practice the act of self-affirming before being in the throes of labor and delivery. In fact, how about practicing affirmations throughout your entire pregnancy?! Then, when it’s time for the baby’s arrival, you’ll be well-versed in self-affirming and know exactly what positive messages your mind and body need.

You’ll also be well on your way to the continued use of motherhood affirmations. (Because let me tell you — you’ll need them!)

3. Reduce Stress and Create a Sense of Calm

Stress can impact one’s health at any stage in life, but particularly during pregnancy. “Too much stress can cause you to have trouble sleeping, headaches, loss of appetite, or a tendency to overeat — all of which can be harmful to you and your developing baby,” National Institute of Child Health and Human Development says. “High levels of stress can also cause high blood pressure, which increases your chance of having preterm labor or a low-birth-weight infant.”³ But that’s where pregnancy affirmations can help! The calmer and more tranquil you are while pregnant, the better it is for your health and your baby’s health.⁴

4. Change Your Brain and Help You Believe in Yourself

Positive self-affirmations throughout pregnancy and motherhood affect one’s brain chemistry, and scientific studies have the proof to back that up. Research has shown that self-affirming repeatedly leads to positive mental and physical responses, including enhanced self-esteem and self-confidence. The body makes a physical connection with the statements we continuously tell ourselves, and we start to believe them, which means we believe in ourselves!⁵

5. Help Improve Your Overall Mental and Physical Health

For years, experts have warned women to watch for signs of postpartum depression and postpartum psychosis. However, new research is emerging that prenatal depression is more common than originally thought.⁶ That’s why it’s crucial for expecting mothers to care for their mental health. Repeating positive pregnancy affirmations to themselves is one way to do just that.

When a pregnant mother-to-be tells herself that she is strong and capable and can endure this, she will eventually start to believe it and believe in herself. Affirmations for a pregnant woman are a form of self-care that mothers everywhere can use during this trying time in their lives — and even as they enter motherhood.

6. Foster a Mind-Body Connection Between the Pregnant Mother and Her Baby

No physical experience can quite compare to pregnancy, labor, and delivery. While the feelings of baby kicking are magical, and the moment a mother and child are reunited in the outside world for the first time is the most surreal experience imaginable, pregnancy also hurts. Pregnancy is exhausting. Pregnancy feels like running a marathon daily; sometimes it might feel more like torture than magic.

That’s why it is so valuable for the pregnant mother to establish a strong connection to her body and baby, and pregnancy affirmations can help her do that. Constant reminders of the fantastic job her body is doing will help get her through those long days of nausea and pain.

Like any other time in life when you might use positive self-affirmations, pregnancy affirmations work best when you choose meaningful statements that resonate with you and repeat them over and over. An effective way to use pregnancy affirmations is to post them where you can see them regularly throughout your day. Whether at work or in your home (or both!), write them down, print them out, or save them on your phone — just put them in a place where you can receive their positive messaging often and with ease. I believe the key is constant exposure to the statements you’ve chosen, as the more you buy into the power of affirmations, the better they’ll work for you.

Pregnancy affirmations empower the mother-to-be to believe in herself and find comfort throughout these long, grueling months. You might choose affirmations about how amazing your body is, focus on inner peace, or even channel your body’s connection to the baby growing within your womb. Whatever messaging calms your mind and relieves stress and tension within your body — those are the pregnancy affirmations for you.

1. My body and mind are strong. My pregnancy is progressing beautifully.

2. I embrace the changes in my pregnant body, as they are necessary to let my baby grow.

3. My baby feels safe and peaceful in my womb.

4. My pregnant body is beautiful.

5. I am grateful for the growing life within me.

6. I am proud of myself and my strong body.

7. Everything I need to take care of this baby is already within me.

8. I am already a mother and doing a good job.

9. I can do this.

10. I trust that my body knows what to do.

11. I am safe, my baby is safe, and we are surrounded by support and love.

12. Breathe in peace, breathe out worry.

13. I will get through today.

14. It is okay to ask for and accept help. I am caring for myself and my baby when I do so.

15. This, too, shall pass.

16. I love my baby. I love myself.

17. I feel the love of others around me.

18. I am blessed to be able to have this baby inside of me.

19. I am doing my best for myself and my child.

20. I choose calmness and peace for this pregnancy and my baby.

21. I am nurturing my baby in every way.

22. I trust my body’s ability to nurture and protect my baby.

23. I grow stronger each day.

24. My baby grows stronger each day.

25. Every day, my baby grows stronger and healthier within me.

26. My baby and I are a team.

27. My baby can feel the peace I feel.

28. I am grateful for this body.

29. I was divinely chosen and called to be the mother of this child.

30. I accept all my feelings as part of myself as I grow as a mother.

31. I am powerful.

32. My baby knows how and when to be born.

33. I accept this pregnancy experience and whatever it brings.

34. I give myself grace as I grow this precious baby.

35. I am calm and confident, embracing the new chapter in my life.

36. Every day is a step closer to meeting my bundle of joy.

37. My baby and I are working together to prepare for birth.

38. I look forward to meeting my baby.

39. There is magic in my body. It knows how to create.

40. I am already a great mother.

In the end, pregnancy affirmations simply help the pregnant mother believe in herself. Throughout life, when we feel defeated, weak, and think we will fail, often, we are right — because mindset matters. Using positive self-affirmations (including pregnancy affirmations) or having a pregnancy mantra can help us flip that script when we need it the most. We’re stronger than we think we are. We will get through it. And whether we feel it every day or not, we mothers are, in fact, very brave. Sometimes, we just need a few reminders along the way.