On meanings and potential

The word ‘pregnant’ comes from the Latin prae ‘before’ and the base of gnasci ‘be born’. It denotes the very special state leading up to the birth of mother and child. A time full of intense transformation on every level and beyond what one thought possible before. A liminal moment, a moment full of potentiality.

Because of my background of an Anthropologist and a traveller, I can’t help but think of the words for pregnancy in different languages because words convey worlds of meaning. In Spanish, we speak of embarazo. From an etymological standpoint, embarazado/a means ‘encumbered’ or ‘someone carrying a heavy load/burden’. In my native Bulgarian, the word for pregnancy, бременност, has a very similar meaning. It comes from the old verb беру, which means ‘to take (as much as my hands can carry)’ and speaks to the day of the pregnant woman which used to be heavy, difficult, which are other ways to say that someone is pregnant. Gravidus in Latin, also meaning heavy, cumbersome, has given the words for pregnancy in various languages, e.g. gravida in Portuguese. Somewhat different, enceinte in French comes from the Latin incincta or being ‘surrounded’. What words are used in your mother tongue around pregnancy? Please share.

What does this insistence on heaviness beyond the unavoidable physical reality of getting heavier mean? Can we find new words to think of and through it, and connect deeper with this unique time and our responsibility as mothers-to-become during it? I propose a few alternatives: ‘a two-hearted being’, ‘carrying Life’, ‘vessel of Life’. I love that in Hebrew the plural of womb means compassion. As our babies grow within us, our compassion also grows and will continue expanding throughout our lives as mothers.

In my accompaniment during pregnancy, I focus on the day-to-day physical, emotional and mental transformations brought by this sacred passage to the pregnant person and her partner. I visit fears, memories and preconceptions which can make this journey heavy and can resurface during labour. I encourage the mother to listen deeply to herself and her baby. I walk along as she prepares to be born and give birth. I insist on planning the big after, the postpartum.