Making the decision to have a child is never one that can be taken lightly. There are a lot of very unique and personal factors to be taken into consideration – your relationship status, your financial status, where you are in your professional life and many other factors are things that vary from woman to woman and will be a big part of her eventual, very personal decision.

This having all been said there are some very persistent myths and fears that often influence women and lead them to delaying having children because they have one or two big fears that they simply cannot seem to get past that have little to do with their personal situation. These fears should never be dismissed as silly but they can be overcome if the woman experiencing them has access to information that can help calm their anxieties. Here are some of the biggest of such fears that women have about getting pregnant and a little about why things are probably not as bad as they seem:

The Fear of Miscarriage – Many women worry that if they do decide to become pregnant that their joy will be dashed by a miscarriage and they feel that they would not be able to deal with that eventuality. Miscarriage is not as common as many people imagine though. While 20% of pregnancies do end in miscarriage, most of the time those miscarriages occur very early in pregnancy, during the first few weeks after conception when a woman actually has no idea she is pregnant.

Usually a miscarriage is caused by a chromosomal abnormality in the fetus and is completely unavoidable and natural and the good news for women who do experience one miscarriage that the risk of a similar thing happening again is very small – less than three percent.

The Fear of Labor – For most women all of their lives there has been someone around – their Mum, an aunt, and their friends – to scare them with horror stories about how painful labor is and it is easy to become very afraid of the idea of having to endure so much pain. The key to overcoming that fear is arming yourself with all the information about all of the many pain relief options that are available to women in labor these days. This does not just mean conventional pain medications but also breathing techniques like Lamaze and even alternative pain management techniques such as self hypnosis.

The one thing that any woman should not do is expect that giving birth has to be horrifically painful. There is no such thing as a painless labor but there are so many things that you can take advantage of to help you through it and its your right to take advantage of them if you need to, as long as your doctor deems them safe there is no shame in asking for pain management help when in labor, there are no medals awarded for Mom who tolerates the most pain!

The Fear of Not Being a Good Parent – The biggest fear that prevents many women from becoming pregnant is the fear that they simply will not be a good parent. They are often really not sure why they think that way but the whole thing simply seems too overwhelming. The fact is that worry in itself is a good sign that you will be a good Mum. If it is very important to you that you be the best Mum possible then you will obviously keep working on that.

Babies do not need the most expensive clothes or the latest toys in order for them to be happy and healthy so being a good Mum is not about money, it’s about being there and helping your child grow up. No parent is perfect and the human ability to bond with others is amazing, as any Mum can tell you just a minute or so after meeting their new baby for the first time!

A nurse with 15 years experience
Parenthood and Kids

A nurse with 15 years experience
Parenthood and Kids http://www.parenthoodandkids.com/

Author Bio: A nurse with 15 years experience
Parenthood and Kids

Category: Opinions
Keywords: parenthood, kids, pregnancy