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.

Getting Ready

Week 36

0:00−5:58

Background sound

Duration:: 6 min
Stage:: Pregnancy · Week 36
Best for:: The preparing weeks: the bag, the plan, the logistics

How to practise

In the third trimester, practical readiness held loosely; plans as flexible preferences 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 bag, the plan, the logistics, there is a lot to think about now. This practice helps you prepare with calm, and gently reframes a birth plan as a set of flexible preferences rather than a script that must go exactly to order. Holding it loosely is what keeps it useful when the real day does its own thing.

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 36. It fits best the preparing weeks: the bag, the plan, the logistics, 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 Thirty-Six.

There is a lot of getting-ready around now. The bag, the plan, the practical pieces. That preparation can bring a real sense of calm, and it can also tip into pressure and overthinking.

So today we prepare gently, and we hold it all a little loosely. Because the most useful birth plan is one you can adapt, not one that has to go exactly to order. 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 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.

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Let the counting go.

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Preparing can settle the mind, that quiet satisfaction of having things ready. But it can also become a way of trying to control the uncontrollable, as if the right plan could guarantee the right day.

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So let's hold your preparation gently. Picture the things you are getting ready, the bag by the door, the plan in your mind, as helpful tools, not promises. You are laying them out so that future-you has less to think about, not so that birth will follow your script.

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A birth plan is really a set of preferences and hopes, the things that matter to you. It is worth knowing what those are. And it is just as worth holding them loosely, so that if the day asks for a change, you can flow with it rather than feel you have failed.

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You do not have to get everything ready, or get any of it perfect. Ready enough is enough. The most important thing you are bringing to birth is not in any bag. It is you, and your breath, and the people around you.

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

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The first. I can hold my plans loosely and still feel ready.

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Notice where you feel that, if anywhere.

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The second. Ready enough is enough.

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Let it settle.

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And the last. I can adapt to whatever the day brings.

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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, ready and unhurried.

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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 calm into whatever you prepare next.

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That is the end of this week's practice.

If the getting-ready feels like a lot, your midwife can help you sort what truly matters from what can wait, and the people around you can carry some of it with you. You do not have to prepare for everything, or prepare alone.

We will meet again next week.

FAQ

When should I listen to Week 36?: This practice is designed for the preparing weeks: the bag, the plan, the logistics, 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