15 Significant Pregnancy Poems

(Poems 1-15)

These tender and transformative poems celebrate the journey of expecting a child. They paint portraits of the miracle of life growing within, capturing the emotions of joy, anticipation, and wonder.

These verses may reflect on the profound changes that occur physically and emotionally during pregnancy and the bond formed between parent and unborn child.

Poets describe the significance of this life-giving phase. These poems become tributes to the power of motherhood and the precious gift of new life.

Poems about Pregnancy Visual Representation

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Before the Birth of One of Her Children

by Anne Bradstreet

‘Before the Birth of One of Her Children’ by Anne Bradstreet is a moving poem about a woman’s opinion on death. Inspired by her pregnancy, the speaker pens this epistolary to her husband.

The speaker’s pregnancy is central to her reflections on life and death, as childbirth at the time carried significant risks. Her words show both hope and worry, as she considers the life growing within her and the dangers she faces. This balance of life and potential loss highlights the challenges of pregnancy, especially in an era when survival wasn’t guaranteed for mothers.

All things within this fading world hath end,

Adversity doth still our joyes attend;

No ties so strong, no friends so dear and sweet,

But with death’s parting blow is sure to meet.

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The Abortion

by Anne Sexton

‘The Abortion’ by Anne Sexton is a harrowing and highly thoughtful account of a journey home from a pregnancy termination that explores complex emotions.

The poem details a journey to terminate a pregnancy, but in spite of the fact women have been doing so for the entire span of human history, this type of story is rarely depicted in fiction, poetry, or film. Sexton's unapologetic decision to place it front and center, both here in the other poems, is part of what made her such an iconic poet.

Somebody who should have been born

is gone.

Just as the earth puckered its mouth,

each bud puffing out from its knot,

I changed my shoes, and then drove south.

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The Annunciation

by Elizabeth Jennings

‘The Annunciation’ is a deeply thoughtful depiction of the moment Mary learned she’d carry the son of God.

Mary's pregnancy is a big part of the poem, showing the changes she will go through. It looks at how she feels about the news and the idea of becoming a mother. The poem also talks about her special pregnancy, being both a normal baby and God's child. This topic mixes the miraculous with everyday life.

Nothing will ease the pain to come

Though now she sits in ecstasy

And lets it have its way with her.

The angel’s shadow in the room

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My Mother Dreams Another Country

by Natasha Trethewey

‘My Mother Dreams Another Country’ looks at the worries that afflicted a woman in the 1960s pregnant with a mixed-race child.

Different aspects of pregnancy are looked at in this poem. The way in which a pregnant woman will worry about what awaits her child is shown, and the poet expands on this by looking at superstitions that were prevalent at the time, relating to the way in which a woman's actions while pregnant can affect her unborn child.

Already the words are changing. She is changing

from colored to negro, black still years ahead

This is 1966 - she is married to a white man -

and there are more names for what grows inside her.

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Sleep

by Kenneth Slessor

Kenneth Slessor’s ‘Sleep’ describes how an infant is born in the womb of a woman. This poem describes the journey of life from inanition to entity.

The poem reflects pregnancy as a time filled with mixed emotions, from happiness to uncertainty. As the child grows, the mother feels both the joy and challenges of carrying a new life. Her feelings show the natural process of pregnancy, where each stage brings a stronger connection and a blend of emotions as she nurtures this new life within her.

Do you give yourself to me utterly,
Body and no-body, flesh and no-flesh
Not as a fugitive, blindly or bitterly,
But as a child might, with no other wish?

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A Sunday Morning Tragedy

by Thomas Hardy

‘A Sunday Morning Tragedy’ reveals a tragic attempt to avert shame, ending in the daughter’s death and the mother’s deep remorse.

This poem centers around an unwanted pregnancy that causes a chain of painful events. The daughter’s condition brings shame, fear, and secrecy into their lives. Her mother seeks a solution that leads to tragedy. The pregnancy is never mentioned directly in graphic detail, but it shapes every decision, reaction, and turning point in the poem. Hardy presents it as a life-changing burden in a society that offers little compassion to women in such situations.

I bore a daughter flower-fair,

In Pydel Vale, alas for me;

I joyed to mother one so rare,

But dead and gone I now would be.

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Woman Seated in the Underground, 1941

by Carol Ann Duffy

‘Woman Seated in the Underground, 1941’ is a haunting portrait of a woman’s fractured mind as she sits in silence, trying to remember who she is in the aftermath of war.

One of the few things the woman is sure of is that she is pregnant. That detail stands out in the middle of everything she has forgotten. Her body knows something that her mind does not. She holds on to this one piece of truth, even though it brings no comfort. It shows how something as important as pregnancy can feel distant or confusing when someone is overwhelmed, especially during a time of fear and loss.

I forget. I have looked at the other faces and found

no memory, no love. Christ, she’s a rum one.

Their laughter fills the tunnel, but it does not

comfort me. There was a bang and then

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Sonnet 3

by William Shakespeare

‘Sonnet 3’ is a Procreation Sonnet addressing Fair Youth while emphasizing the significance of procreation.

The speaker emphasizes the transformative power of pregnancy, portraying it as a miraculous process that blesses a mother and can renew youth and vitality, combat the passage of time and the fading of beauty, offering a sense of continuity while preserving one's legacy.

Look in thy glass and tell the face thou viewest,

Now is the time that face should form another,

Whose fresh repair if now thou not renewest,

Thou dost beguile the world, unbless some mother.

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Her First Week

by Sharon Olds

The poem, ‘Her First Week’, inparticularly reveals both sides of motherhood and the many facets of feeling and emotions that come along with having a baby.

She was so small I would scan the crib a half-second

to find her, face-down in a corner, limp

as something gently flung down, or fallen

from some sky an inch above the mattress. I would

#10

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Metaphors

by Sylvia Plath

‘Metaphors’ by Sylvia Plath is an autobiographical piece. It was written during Plath’s pregnancy and discusses the meaning of motherhood.

I'm a riddle in nine syllables,

An elephant, a ponderous house,

A melon strolling on two tendrils.

#11

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My First Weeks

by Sharon Olds

‘My First Weeks’ is a description of the first two weeks in the life of a child and the pleasure she gets from nursing.

Sometimes, when I wonder what I’m like, underneath,

I think of my first two weeks, I was drenched

with happiness. The wall opened

#12

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Song for a Birth or for a Death

by Elizabeth Jennings

‘Song for a Birth or for a Death’ links love and fear to primal instincts, blurring the line between humans and the animal world.

The slit moon only emphasized

How blood must flow and teeth must grip.

What does the calm light understand,

The light which draws the tide and ship

#13

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The Language of the Brag

by Sharon Olds

‘The Language of the Brag’ by Sharon Olds is an unforgettable poem about the strength and exceptionality of women’s bodies. It is set against the backdrop of giving birth.

I have wanted excellence in the knife-throw,

I have wanted to use my exceptionally strong and accurate arms

and my straight posture and quick electric muscles

#14

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The Need to Recall the Journey

by Sujata Bhatt

‘The Need to Recall the Journey’ by Sujata Bhatt is a poem about the past and a speaker’s desire to return to the moment her child was born. It was too fleeting, she feels, and she can’t help but wish she was there again.

I want to return 10

to her moment of birth.

It was too quick.

I want it to go on –

#15

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To an Unborn Pauper Child

by Thomas Hardy

‘To an Unborn Pauper Child’ by Hardy reflects on life’s pain for an unborn, ending with unexpected hope for human joy.

Breathe not, hid Heart: cease silently,

And though thy birth-hour beckons thee,

Sleep the long sleep:

The Doomsters heap

Home » Collection » Poems about Pregnancy

15 Significant Pregnancy Poems

(Poems 1-15)

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15 Significant Pregnancy Poems

(Poems 1-15)

by Anne Bradstreet

by Anne Sexton

by Elizabeth Jennings

by Natasha Trethewey

by Kenneth Slessor

by Thomas Hardy

by Carol Ann Duffy

by William Shakespeare

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