Maintaining a pregnancy journal offers you a space to document and reflect on your experiences, which can also enhance your emotional well-being. Here’s how to begin, along with some prompts to help you get started.
What is Journaling?
Journaling is a form of self-expression that allows you to capture your innermost thoughts and feelings by writing them down. Similar to keeping a diary, journaling provides a powerful way to explore, record, and reflect on your mental and emotional state, especially when you’re trying to start a family, are pregnant, or have recently become a parent.
Decades of research indicate that writing in a journal, also known as expressive writing, can enhance your emotional well-being, mental clarity, and even physical health.
The two main approaches to journaling are:
- Write Free Form: Jot down whatever comes to mind without filtering, judging, or editing. Be open to spontaneous thoughts and any insights that emerge.
- Start with a Prompt: Use a phrase or question to kick off and guide your writing process. See below for examples.
Benefits of Journaling
Journaling offers you the opportunity to:
- Take Time to Reflect: Journaling fosters self-reflection, allowing you to focus on your feelings—both physical and emotional—amid the many changes and concerns of pregnancy.
- Organize Your Thoughts: It provides a private space to work through issues. Writing about a problem first can make it easier to discuss difficult topics with your partner or loved ones.
- Heal from a Difficult Event: Writing about traumatic, stressful, or emotional events can aid in processing and recovering. Spend 15 to 20 minutes on three to five occasions writing your deepest thoughts about the event. If concerned about your feelings, seek support from someone close or a mental health professional. (Postpartum Support International offers referrals to local therapists and support groups.)
- Gain Perspective: The blur of days and months during pregnancy or early parenthood can make it hard to recall specific moments. Journaling preserves your feelings at different times, providing perspective and insights as life changes.
- Let Go of Distressing Emotions: The range and intensity of emotions during pregnancy and early parenthood can be surprising. Writing can offer a cathartic release for difficult emotions like sadness, anger, and anxiety. Journaling can also complement treatments for depression or anxiety during pregnancy and postpartum depression.
- Enjoy a Creative Outlet: Journaling allows you to freely express yourself, providing a private and imaginative space without rules. Have fun and explore your creativity.
Tips for Journaling
- Go Old School: Writing with pen and paper engages your brain differently than typing on a computer or phone. The permanence of ink encourages unfiltered expression. However, if digital works better for you, that’s fine too. There’s no right or wrong way to journal.
- Make It Doable: Find a convenient time for five or ten minutes of writing, such as before bed or during your child’s nap. Set a timer and decide if you want to write longer. Pair journaling with another daily activity, like writing for five minutes after a class or meeting.
- Let Go of Perfection: The goal isn’t to write perfect prose. Your journal is for your eyes only unless you choose to share it, so don’t worry about how it sounds.
- Give It a Chance: Journaling might feel awkward initially, but it gets easier with practice. Commit to trying it several times before deciding whether to continue.
- Try Different Techniques: Experiment with different styles. Some prefer free-form writing, while others like prompts. Start with “I” sentences in the present tense, such as “Today, I feel …,” “Right now, I want …,” or “At the moment, I think …”
- Reflect on What You Write: After writing, review your entry and note any insights. Try finishing the sentence: “As I read this, I notice …”
What is a Gratitude Journal?
Journaling is an active way to express emotions, focusing on exploring your inner world without a specific goal in mind. It’s about seeing where your thoughts and feelings lead you.
A gratitude journal, however, has a specific focus: reflecting on and writing down what you’re grateful for. Research shows that this practice can significantly boost happiness.
To keep a gratitude journal, make a daily list of things you’re grateful for, whether big or small. It could be anything: feeling your baby kick, watching your newborn sleep, getting some rest yourself, enjoying fresh tomatoes or chocolate chip cookies, spending time with loved ones, being healthy, or having a job.
You can also create a family gratitude “journal.” Tape a large sheet of paper to a wall or stick it on the fridge, and have everyone write down what they’re grateful for. Alternatively, use sticky notes and post them in a central spot.
Journal Prompts for Trying to Conceive (TTC)
- How am I feeling right now?
- What excites me most about becoming a parent?
- What scares me most about becoming a parent?
- How can I show myself more love while TTC?
- What can I do to take my mind off of TTC and the two-week wait?
Journal Prompts for Pregnancy
- What’s my happiest pregnancy memory and why?
- What am I ready to say goodbye to before becoming a parent?
- What’s something I wanted from my parents but never received?
- What’s a fond family memory I want to share with my child?
- What’s a childhood memory that brings me comfort?
- What are three life lessons I want to share with my child?
Journal Prompts for New Parents
- What surprises me most about being a new parent and why?
- What are three things I need to stay mentally well?
- How do I feel about returning to work?
- What’s my favorite lullaby and why?
- What advice do I have for other parents?
- What does it feel like for me to ask for help?
- My goal for today is …
More Journal Prompts
- I feel happiest when …
- I am grateful for …
- What holds me back from getting what I need?
- What’s my favorite song lyric and why?
- What’s something I’d like to share but keep to myself?
- Who makes me laugh more than anyone else?
- What are three goals I’d like to achieve this year?
- How do I nurture my partnership?
- What are my limiting thoughts and beliefs? How can I turn them around?
- What gives me purpose?
- What energizes me?
- What is my favorite way to move my body? How can I incorporate more movement into my daily life?
- How can I cultivate more frequent connections with the people around me?
- Who are my three closest friends? How does each one make me feel about myself?
- How can I use my unique gifts to help others?
