Even more pronounced and statistically significant was the percentage of women who reported more than one nightmare per week, (21 % vs. Of the total sample of 57 pregnant women, 32 % reported nightmares once a week or more often (20 % of the non-pregnant control group). The most rigorous study on nightmares during pregnancy was carried out by Lara-Carrasco, Simard. About 40–50 % of pregnant women experience nightmares at least sometimes but about 6–10 % of pregnant women reported severe nightmares related to fear of childbirth. Nightmares are defined as extended, extremely dysphoric and well-remembered dreams that usually involve threat to survival, security or physical integrity and, thus, represent an extreme form of negatively toned dreams. The number of these negatively toned dreams correlated with day-time depressive mood and trait anxiety i.e., the dreams including pregnancy-related worries also reflect the day-time worries of pregnant women. In addition, research indicated that pregnancy-related worries like loss, danger to the fetus/baby or giving birth to a deformed baby also occurred in dreams during pregnancy. The dreaming process during pregnancy also has, however, its downside: two studies reported a higher frequency of disturbing dreams in pregnant women compared to non-pregnant women. Interestingly, an increased frequency of pregnancy-related dreams can also be found in expectant fathers. Women during their first pregnancy dreamed more often about their pregnancy than women who have borne more than one child. The continuity hypothesis in its general form states that we dream about the topics that are relevant in our waking-lives. The majority of studies in this field have shown that the dreams of pregnant women include more often pregnancy-related topics like fetus/baby, being pregnant, childbirth, references to body anatomy and, thus, support the continuity hypothesis of dreaming. Perry, DiPietro reported that all 8 women who based their prediction of the baby’s sex on dreams were correct but Maybruck didn’t find above-chance predictions. There is a long history of pregnancy-related dreams that can be found in the literature, starting with conceptions dreams, for example, related to the birth of saints and announcing dreams predicting characteristics of the future baby like sex. Not only is sleep altered during pregnancy but dreaming is also affected – with dreaming defined as subjective experiences occurring during sleep. During pregnancy, especially in the third trimester, sleep disorders are quite common : increased snoring (11–16 %), restless legs symptoms (18–31 %), and impaired subjective sleep quality (39–54 %). Pregnancy, as a period in women’s lives, is characterized by profound changes at all levels: physical, hormonal and psychological.
Conclusionsįuture studies should investigate the prevalence of nightmare disorders in pregnancy and study whether brief interventions like Imagery Rehearsal Therapy are beneficial for pregnant women suffering from nightmares. Moreover, baby-related dreams were correlated with nightmare frequency but not with day-time stress. The findings clearly indicate that pregnant women report nightmares more often compared to a representative sample and that nightmare frequency is closely related to subjectively experienced stress during daytime. The representative sample included 496 women (age range: 14–93 years.).
Women with severe somatic illnesses and/or psychiatric disorders were excluded. The present analysis included 406 women aged 16–40 years in the last trimester of their pregnancy. The mothers-to-be were approached during their application visit about 4–8 weeks prior to delivery in three obstetric hospitals. Nightmare frequency and subjectively experienced stress was elicited via questionnaires. Pregnancy-related dreams are often found in pregnant women but also the number of negatively toned dreams seems to be increased in this challenging phase of a woman’s life.