Is this meditation safe during pregnancy?

Yes. This is gentle guided practice with no breath-holding or physical exertion. Listen in any comfortable position. If a practice increases distress rather than easing it, stop and speak with your midwife, GP, or a mental health professional.

Do I need the app to listen?

No. Press play on this page for the full guided audio and transcript. The My Maternal Mind app adds offline caching, ambient sound mixing, and a daily meditation written for your current week.

Listening for You

Week 16

0:00−6:16

Background sound

Duration:: 6 min
Stage:: Pregnancy · Week 16
Best for:: The waiting-to-feel weeks, especially if not feeling movement yet

How to practise

In the second trimester, gentle anticipation of first movements, without straining or worrying can show up quietly or all at once. This guided meditation makes room for the feeling without turning it into a lesson you are meant to pass.

First movements arrive on a wide and unpredictable timeline, often later than expected, especially in a first pregnancy. The waiting can make you hyper-attentive, reading every gurgle as a maybe. This practice offers a softer way to wait: a gentle, patient listening that does not demand anything, and that fully normalizes not feeling a thing yet.

Find a position that supports you (seated or lying down). Press play and let the guidance move at its own pace. There is no correct way to feel, and nothing to visualize on demand.

This episode is written for week 16. It fits best the waiting-to-feel weeks, especially if not feeling movement yet, though you can return whenever the week feels heavy or unfamiliar.

Each week in the series stands alone. Listeners often join at their current week and circle back later; the arc rewards continuity, but nothing here assumes you have been listening since week one.

Full transcript

Welcome to Week Sixteen.

Around these weeks, some people begin to feel the very first flutters of movement. Many do not feel anything yet, and that is completely normal, especially if this is your first pregnancy. First movements come on their own timeline, and there is nothing to chase.

So today is not about searching for a kick. It is about a gentle, patient kind of listening, the kind that does not strain. Let's begin.

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Let's begin by letting your body settle.

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Find a position that supports you. Let the surface beneath you take your weight.

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Let your eyes close, or rest them softly open.

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Take one slow breath in.

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And let it go.

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Let's steady with the breath. In… one… … two… … three… … four…

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And out, longer. Out… one… … two… … three… … four… … five… … six…

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Again, in your own time.

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Let the counting go.

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There is a particular kind of waiting in these weeks. A leaning-in, an attentiveness, wondering whether that small feeling was something or nothing. It can tip into straining, into checking, into worry when nothing clear arrives.

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So let's practice a gentler way to listen. Not the tense kind of listening, like waiting for a phone to ring. The soft kind, like noticing birdsong in the background without trying to catch every note.

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If it feels comforting, you might rest a hand low on your belly. Not to detect anything. Just to be near. There may be flutters you can feel, and there may be nothing yet, and both are exactly as they should be at this point.

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You are not behind. Movement that has not arrived yet is not movement that is missing. It is simply not yet. Your body and your baby are on their own quiet schedule, and you do not have to hurry it along.

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So let your attention rest, soft and unstraining. Present, but not searching. Here, but not demanding.

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Now, three quiet truths. Let each one land in the body.

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The first. I can wait without worrying that I am behind.

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Notice where you feel that, if anywhere.

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The second. Not yet is not the same as not okay.

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Let it settle.

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And the last. I can listen gently, without straining.

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You do not have to be certain. Just let these be true.

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Stay a little longer, breathing, listening softly.

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And when you are ready, begin to come back. Feel your weight. Feel your hands.

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Let your breath rejoin your day.

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Open your eyes slowly, if they were closed.

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And carry this gentle patience with you.

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That is the end of this week's practice.

If you are waiting to feel movement and finding it makes you anxious, please know that not feeling anything yet at this stage is very normal. And your midwife is always there for reassurance whenever you would like it. You never have to sit with a worry alone.

We will meet again next week.

FAQ

When should I listen to Week 16?: This practice is designed for the waiting-to-feel weeks, especially if not feeling movement yet, though you can return any time during pregnancy.
Is this meditation safe during pregnancy?: Yes. This is gentle guided practice with no breath-holding or physical exertion. Listen in any comfortable position. If a practice increases distress rather than easing it, stop and speak with your midwife, GP, or a mental health professional.
Do I need the app to listen?: No. Press play on this page for the full guided audio and transcript. The My Maternal Mind app adds offline caching, ambient sound mixing, and a daily meditation written for your current week.

Related practice

Practise with the full toolkit in the app

This episode is one of fifty-one in the Pregnancy Weeks series, with ambient sound mixing, streak tracking, and a daily meditation written for your current week.

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My Maternal Mind supports your wellbeing during pregnancy and birth preparation. It does not replace medical advice, midwifery care, or mental health treatment. Discuss your birth plan and any concerns with your care team.

Last reviewed: 2026-06-30