Best Way to Handle Your Life in the Latter Stage of Pregnancy

The latter stage of your pregnancy is the time to bring to a close those things that you no longer have any use for. You might need to put your career on hold or leave your job. But rather than see this as a loss, think of it simply as the ending of one cycle and the beginning of another. Human life is not a linear progression from birth to death— this is a purely Western perception. In reality, life is a succession of cycles—beginnings and endings, new beginnings and more endings. One door closes and another one opens.

However, it’s really important that you acknowledge the ending of one cycle. You need to give some recognition to this permanent and final end. Inevitably some sort of mourning must take place, and when you have done this you can be really free to welcome the new cycle. You’ll probably know instinctively what sort of ritual will help you to mark the passing of your life without children. Janette remembers putting her white pharmacist’s uniforms into the washing machine for the very last time. She knew she wasn’t going to miss the job of washing, whitening and ironing them. Believe it or not, nature actually helps you to mark your passage from woman to mother too.

As the time to give birth draws closer, you’ll find yourself, whether you like it or not, cleaning windows and cupboards, shifting furniture around and generally getting ready for your baby’s arrival. It’s that famous ‘nesting instinct’, and it’s not a myth or a figment of someone’s imagination. Nature’s amazing—she knows it’s going to be a very long time before you clean out those cupboards again. As for the windows, well . . .

Nature also makes sure that by the time your pregnancy draws to a close you’re looking forward to getting rid of that baby from your belly. It’s hard to believe when for so long all you wanted was to ‘be pregnant’, when your pregnancy has been so much ‘better’, and when you’ve enjoyed the whole nine months so thoroughly. But finally, the day will come when all you want is to go into labor and stop the endless phone calls from your mother asking, ‘Anything happening yet?’ When all of that happens you’ll know that your baby’s arrival isn’t very far away!