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.

Becoming Visible

Week 17

0:00−6:03

Background sound

Duration:: 6 min
Stage:: Pregnancy · Week 17
Best for:: When others start to notice, comment, or reach for the bump

How to practise

In the second trimester, being seen by the world, and keeping agency over your body and news 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.

Where the first trimester let you carry things privately, the second often makes you visible: people notice, comment, and sometimes reach to touch. That shift can feel warm, or intrusive, or both. This practice helps you meet being seen with steadiness, and reminds you that how public you are, and who gets access to your body, remains yours to decide.

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 17. It fits best when others start to notice, comment, or reach for the bump, 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 Seventeen.

There may be a point around now where the pregnancy stops being only yours to know about. People notice. They comment. Some of them reach out to touch, sometimes without asking. After weeks of carrying this privately, being suddenly visible can feel lovely, or jarring, or a strange mix of both.

So today is about staying steady while being seen, and remembering that your body and your news are still yours. Let's begin.

…

Let's begin by letting your body settle.

…

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

…

Let your eyes close, or rest them softly open.

…

Take one slow breath in.

…

And let it go.

…

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

…

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

…

Again, in your own time.

…

Let the counting go.

…

Being visible can take something from you, even when it is kind. The comments, the questions, the attention to your body, they ask you to be available in a way you did not necessarily agree to. It is no wonder if it sometimes feels like a lot.

…

So let's come back to what is steady and yours. Underneath all the noticing, there is still you, in here, breathing. The visible part is only the surface. The whole of you is still your own.

…

Imagine you are inside a room with a window. People can see in through the window, and that is fine. But you get to decide how wide it opens, and what you share through it, and when you draw the curtain for a while. The room is yours. The window is yours to manage.

…

You are allowed to enjoy being seen when it feels good. And you are allowed to set a boundary when it does not. A kind no is still a no. You can protect your body and your peace without owing anyone an explanation.

…

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

…

The first. How seen I am is partly mine to choose.

…

Notice where you feel that, if anywhere.

…

The second. My body and my news are still mine.

…

Let it settle.

…

And the last. I can set a boundary and still be kind.

…

You do not have to act on it now. Just let these be true.

…

Stay a little longer, breathing, steady in your own room.

…

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

…

Let your breath rejoin your day.

…

Open your eyes slowly, if they were closed.

…

And carry this steadiness gently with you.

…

That is the end of this week's practice.

You are allowed to decline a touch, a question, or a comment, without guilt. If the attention ever feels like too much, the people closest to you can help hold a boundary with you. You do not have to manage all of it alone.

We will meet again next week.

FAQ

When should I listen to Week 17?: This practice is designed for when others start to notice, comment, or reach for the bump, 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.

Download now

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