The Element Encyclopedia of 20,000 Dreams: The Ultimate A–Z to Interpret the Secrets of Your Dreams. Theresa Cheung
focus on miscarriage may have the same interpretation but they may also refer to a miscarriage of justice, especially if you felt anger in your dream. Is someone in waking life taking the credit you deserve? Still birth dreams are in some ways more devastating and sad than dreams about miscarriage, as the baby has been brought to full term with the only element missing being the spark of life. In dreams, a still born baby may represent a talent you have allowed to die, or a relationship that has died due to neglect.
Birth control
To see or use contraceptives in your dream suggests that you are not allowing your creativity to express itself and that you are holding back some aspect of yourself. Alternatively, it signifies your anxieties about pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases. In waking life, birth control is used to prevent a pregnancy and the details of the dream should indicate what it is in waking life you are trying to prevent. This could be pregnancy, but it could also refer to the suppression of creativity, maternal and paternal feelings, anxiety about sexual activity, and feelings or attitudes regarding responsibility.
GIVING BIRTH
If you are a woman and you dream of giving birth, the first question to ask yourself is do you actually want to get pregnant? If you do, your dream may be an example of wish-fulfillment. The purpose of your unconscious was probably to fulfill your fervent desire for all to go well. There have also been recorded instances of women and men dreaming about the birth of a baby before they even knew they were expecting; somehow the dream was a response to the presence of an actual fetus, not yet detected by doctors and pregnancy tests. If you are pregnant and you dream that labor and delivery was difficult, it probably reflects anxieties about the impending birth. The same applies to dreams about giving birth to an animal; they are simply mirroring your concerns and anxieties. If you are a prospective father, your dream may also be depicting your hopes and fears for the welfare of your unborn child.
If you are not pregnant, birth dreams can indicate a desire for children but are more likely to represent something else in waking life. The birth of a child signals a new beginning and the emergence of new life; in dreams the meaning is much the same: a new way of life, a new attitude, a new discovery, a new project and so on. If you hear about a birth, or watch or witness a birth in your dream, this also suggests the beginning of a new and fruitful cycle in your life. Birth dreams therefore are an expression of big changes that have been occurring for a long period of time. Did the dream delivery go well or was it difficult? Again, the answer may indicate the likely ease of turning your hopes into reality. If this doesn’t apply, then dream births may symbolize your brain child, perhaps an idea or a project you are longing to complete successfully.
Alternatively, did your dream focus on one aspect of birth—the umbilical cord, for example? If the cord was wrapped
Birth dreams during pregnancy
Pregnancy is one of the most life-changing, and physically and emotionally demanding challenges a woman can face in her lifetime. Research shows that the dreams of pregnant women can comment on the physical, psychological and emotional issues she has to deal with. The most common dream themes at this time concern animals and water. In the early stages of the pregnancy, these dreams may be gentle and calming, but towards the end of the pregnancy they can be traumatic or even become nightmares. Such alarming dreams are considered a normal reaction to the anxiety every woman unconsciously feels about her unborn baby and about giving birth.
It is also very common for pregnant women to dream about having the baby and these dreams are again often bizarre and disturbing; for example, dreaming about a baby that is born dead, malformed or with a monster’s head. It has been suggested that such anxiety dreams serve a purpose: they release a lot of unconscious tension and fear, allowing the mother to be more relaxed at birth.
around the baby’s neck, this may indicate that your ideas are being strangled or in danger of being strangled. If the cord was neatly severed, this can indicate that your ideas have been cut free and are now independent of you. If there were problems cutting the cord, this could be a symbol of a grown-up family that is beginning to leave home. Or it may be that you yourself are finding it hard to fly the family nest and branch out on your own. If you are not able to see your baby after a difficult labor, this can indicate that you are laboring in vain in waking life and aren’t being rewarded by the sight of your mental offspring.
BABY
If a baby is born or appears in your dream, were you the proud parent? If you were, this suggests a budding talent or creative potential that is just emerging. If you give birth to two or more babies, this may symbolize groups of ideas or personal talents. On the other hand, it could also suggest that you need to lavish extra care and attention on your ‘brainchild’ if it is to be a success; if the dream baby is premature, this message is stressed further.
If you are looking after someone else’s baby in your dream, it could indicate that in waking life you feel as if you have been left ‘holding the baby’ in some way. Did you enjoy holding the baby or feel panicked by the responsibility? If you felt anxious, maybe you are worried about the responsibility that has been placed upon your shoulders in waking life. Pay attention to the behavior of the baby. If the baby is happy, this suggests that you are fulfilling the needs of your brainchild, but if the baby is distressed, this suggests that your idea, project or talent isn’t being developed or cared for.
If you lost or injured a baby in your dream, this can suggest a loss of confidence on your part and an inability to put in the hard work required to see a project to completion. If you are the parent of a young baby and you have this kind of dream, it could indicate that you are finding it hard to cope with the demands and responsibilities of caring for a baby in waking life. Your unconscious could also be highlighting your sense of guilt about not being a perfect enough parent and your desperate need for time to yourself.
If, however, procreation in waking life is not at the forefront of your conscious mind, dream babies may be an expression of an unconscious counterpart trying to acquaint you with the baby, or your own inner child, within. This is an aspect of yourself that is dependent on others for financial or emotional support, or the part of you that longs to be reborn and relive your life again. Or perhaps this ‘baby’ is a part of the personality or aspect that has not been ‘born’ or expressed before. If your dream baby is born with an adult body and a baby head, this suggests an approach to life that is still immature. If your dream baby is born with a baby body and an adult head, it suggests adult intellect but emotional and sexual immaturity. If the baby is beautiful, gifted or remarkable in some way, this represents the emergence of personal insight and previously unconscious elements of yourself.
A baby boy in your dream suggests the birth of a new phase of self-expression and new activities and achievements, whereas a baby girl suggests new aspects of feeling and relationships with others. If the baby is crying, this indicates that your fundamental needs for love, support, comfort and happiness are not being met. Is there something distressing you at a feeling level that you are not acknowledging? If you drop a baby in your dreams, this suggests carelessness in dealing with your basic needs, especially as it concerns connection with others. It can also refer to a mistake or missed opportunity, or a feeling that someone has dropped or lost interest in you. If the baby is smiling, this suggests a deep level of comfort, security and satisfaction.
HOLE/TUNNEL
Some dream researchers believe that birth dreams lead us back to life in the womb and the traumas associated with our own experience of birth. The psychoanalyst Nandor Fodor has written extensively about the subject