10 Journal Prompts to Feel Grounded and Empowered During Pregnancy
Discover ten empowering journal prompts for weeks 21–24 of pregnancy to help you reflect, connect, and embrace your evolving self.
Pregnancy is more than a countdown to birth. As your baby grows, so do you—in body, heart, and identity. During this highly personal transformation, it’s important to take time to pause and reflect. Using these ten journal prompts from 9 Months of Wonder by Rachel Garahan, you can find strength and empowerment on your journey.
Designed as a guided journal for mothers-to-be, 9 Months of Wonder creates space to listen to your inner voice, reconnect with your evolving self, and fully experience the wonder of this in-between time. These prompts are part of the “Empower” section for weeks 21–24, created to help you recognize your strength, embrace change, and stay rooted in your own wisdom as you navigate the second trimester.
Empower
“If you listen to [your children], somehow you are able to free yourself from baggage and vanity and all sorts of things, and deliver a better self, one that you like. The person that was in me that I liked best was the one my children seemed to want.”
—Toni Morrison
In the sixth month of pregnancy, change is happening at a rapid pace, for both you and your baby—and as you transition into your third trimester, your body is no doubt looking and feeling different from before. A phase often marked by weariness and impatience, let this time of physical growth lead the way for personal growth.
It has been said that motherhood reveals a woman’s roughest edges, and the same is true for pregnancy. Before your baby arrives, you are still mostly just you, making it a good time to work on unresolved issues in order to integrate new learnings and show up as best you can for your child once they arrive.
Through the study of epigenetics—an emerging science that looks at how mindset, behavior, and environment affect genes—we are beginning to learn the amazing power a pregnant woman has on three generations at once: herself, her unborn child, and her unborn grandchild, through the impression her life makes on the eggs in her womb. Not only does this offer insight into the power we hold for the future, but into the impact of the past as well: all the stories and experiences our maternal grandmother carried while pregnant had an effect on our mother and on us. With this knowledge, we can recognize the magnificent potential our bodies hold for evolution, and choose to utilize it for positive change.
Weeks 21–24
This month, allow your attention to be focused on transforming judgment and composting it into compassion through forgiveness.
This can be done by looking closely at the way we judge ourselves and others, by forgiving those who came before us and did the best they could with the circumstances, resources, and knowledge they had, and by choosing to forgive our past, current, and future selves for the many mistakes we have made or will make as imperfect beings.
By acknowledging this layered and continual process, we can start to accept and heal our own unhelpful patterns and thoughts so we don’t pass them on to the next generation. If we can learn to do this for ourselves, we will empower our children with the loving capacity to do the same, passing the positive shift forward.
Meditating Through Fear
Whether inherited or learned, a result of past experience or the unknown, impending motherhood can inspire some of our greatest fears. Though uncomfortable, allowing ourselves to sit with them can bring us back to a place of empowerment. If you notice fears arising, try this meditation for spaciousness and ease:
Find a quiet place to sit without distractions. Focus on your breathing and allow yourself to witness what comes up. Name the fear that comes to mind. Where do you feel it in your physical body? Continue to focus on your breathing and allow your fear to take shape. Envision all of the details. What happens, and what happens after that? Explore the full cycle of what this fear means to you by walking through each scenario, considering your reactions and next steps until you reach a place of knowing that whatever comes, there’s a way you can move through it. By giving space to your fears rather than pushing them away, you help them to loosen their grip on you.
Note: If you have a history of trauma, mental health issues, or feel overwhelmed by your fear, please consult your doctor or therapist for individualized support.
10 Journal Prompts to Empower You
1. Three Words
Three words to describe your pregnancy right now:
2. This Month
This month in your life (a story to share or things to remember):
3. Your Body
How are you feeling in your pregnant body? Are you enjoying your changing shape? Describe how this physical evolution has felt for you.
4. Attachments
Name any unhealthy attachments, judgments, or negative thoughts about your physical body, personality, or capabilities. What can you let go of that no longer serves you?
5. Gifts
Consider for a moment the possibility that your child’s soul might have consciously chosen you. Which of your gifts, challenges, and life experiences make you their imperfectly perfect mom?
6. Your Own Mom
The Mother Line: What was your mother like? What stories or history do you know from her life or lineage?
7. Your Inner Child
What do you know about your birth and what you were like as a baby? If there are any emotional wounds surfacing at this time, how can you nurture and support your inner child?
8. Growth
What patterns, feelings, or thoughts have you noticed coming up for you? How might these be viewed as opportunities for growth?
9. Good Mom / Bad Mom
What qualities do you admire or judge in other moms or your own? What makes a “good” mom or a “bad” mom? Where do you think these ideas originated?
10. Thinking
Consider what your parent/child relationship could look like if you choose to hold onto limited, negative, or outdated thinking. How might things be different if some of these thoughts or beliefs were released?
Discover More Journal Prompts for Your Whole Pregnancy Journey
9 Months of Wonder
Excerpt from 9 Months of Wonder by Rachel Garahan.