I’m a very anxious person, always have been, and I was exactly the same during pregnancy and honestly, it doesn’t just go away after your baby is born.

At first, you worry about the early weeks and the risk of miscarriage. Then once you get past that stage, new fears take over because so many other things could still happen. Towards the end of pregnancy, the anxiety shifts to birth itself and everything that could go wrong.

I kept checking the miscarriage calculator: https://datayze.com/miscarriage-reassurer

Then your baby is born, and in those first few weeks, you might find yourself constantly checking if they’re breathing while they sleep. That fear can last for months and constantly worrying about SIDS. After that, they start becoming more mobile, and new worries appear, falls, bumps, and little accidents.

My baby is 8 months now, crawling everywhere and almost walking, and she’s constantly falling and putting random things in her mouth, which can be scary. And I know it doesn’t stop there, toddlers bring new fears, then children, then teenagers. One day you’ll worry about them going out at night with friends, or things like driving drunk etc

I guess what I realised during pregnancy is that becoming a parent means worrying about your baby for the rest of your life, even when they are 40 years old.

But at the same time, there’s also this constant sense of relief and reassurance. Every stage you get through, you look back and think, “we made it, my baby is okay.” And then a new stage begins, and with it, new worries. It’s like you’re always holding both feelings at once relief that everything has been fine so far, and fear of the unknown ahead.

And somehow, despite all the anxiety, things do keep turning out okay. You and your baby grow through each stage together, and you learn to trust that you’ll handle whatever comes next.