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.

Before the Scan

Week 19

0:00−6:30

Background sound

Duration:: 7 min
Stage:: Pregnancy · Week 19
Best for:: The night before the 20-week scan, or any anxious moment leading up to it

How to practise

In the second trimester, steadiness the night before the anomaly scan; holding hope and worry together 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.

The anomaly scan is a longer, more detailed appointment, and it is natural for it to bring more nerves than the earlier ones. This practice does not minimise that, and it does not pretend to know how it will go. It simply gives the worry some company, keeps you in tonight rather than in the appointment, and reminds you that you will not face any of it alone.

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 19. It fits best the night before the 20-week scan, or any anxious moment leading up to it, 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 Nineteen.

There may be a scan coming up, the detailed one around twenty weeks. It is a longer appointment, and it is completely understandable if it carries more nerves than the earlier ones did.

So tonight we are not going to push the worry away or pretend we know how it will go. We are going to keep you steady in this evening, give the worry a place to sit, and remember that whatever comes, you will not be facing it alone. 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 a long breath out.

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Let's steady the breath together. 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, letting the out-breath lead you down.

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Let the counting go.

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If there is a scan ahead, your mind may keep traveling to it. The room, the screen, the waiting for words. That is not a failure of calm. That is love, wanting reassurance. You do not have to scold yourself for it.

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But you also do not have to live the appointment tonight. It is not here yet. So let's give the worry a place to sit, rather than carrying it in your arms all evening. Picture setting it down beside you. Not gone, not solved, just put down, within reach, so your arms are free to rest.

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And in the space that makes, let a little hope sit too. Not the loud kind that has to be sure. The quiet kind that can keep company with worry without either one needing to win.

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Whatever the scan brings, you will meet it when it comes, with people around you whose job it is to help. A midwife. A care team. You are not walking into that room alone, and you will not carry any news out of it alone either.

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For now, there is only tonight. Only this breath. Only this quiet, which is asking nothing of you.

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Now, three quiet truths. Let each one land in the body, not only the mind.

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The first. I can hold hope and worry side by side, even tonight.

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Notice where you feel that, if anywhere.

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The second. Whatever comes, I will meet it, and I will not meet it alone.

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Let it settle.

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And the last. Right now, in this breath, I am okay.

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You do not have to be certain of anything beyond this moment. Just this.

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Stay a little longer, breathing, here in tonight.

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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 the evening.

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Open your eyes slowly, if they were closed.

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And carry this steadiness gently with you.

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That is the end of this week's practice.

A scan like this can hold a lot of worry, and you do not have to carry it by yourself. Your midwife is there for the nerves as much as the appointment, and whatever the day brings, your care team is there to help you understand it and decide what comes next. You will not be left to face it alone.

We will meet again next week.

FAQ

When should I listen to Week 19?: This practice is designed for the night before the 20-week scan, or any anxious moment leading up to it, 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