Why Did I Have A Dream Of A Baby Dying? (Dream Interpretation)

What is the meaning behind the dream of a baby dying? Such and similar dreams are the biggest nightmares for every parent and they often have a much deeper meaning.

Don’t worry, dreams about labor or babies dying generally don’t mean that something’s about to happen to your baby.

These dreams are often connected with underlying emotions and changes in life.

From aversions to food and morning sickness to sleep problems, there are so many challenging things mamas need to face both during pregnancy and afterward.

Having a dream of a baby dying is one of the worst nightmares for a parent to have but I assure you, there’s nothing to worry about because death dreams are usually connected with new beginnings.

Recently, my pregnant friend had a recurring dream about a baby dying but the babies in her dreams would all die in different but equally disturbing ways.

After that, she started having pregnancy dreams where she would give birth to babies of different sizes. (Freaky, I know.)

I remember that at some stage I also had a dream of an unborn baby dying (and I wasn’t pregnant at that time).

All this made me think about the possible meanings behind a dream of a baby dying so I rolled up my sleeves and did my research.

Here’s what I found out!

Why Do People Have Nightmares?

Before diving deeper into the matter of babies dying in your dreams, let’s see why nightmares happen in the first place.

The exact reason why nightmares happen is unknown but there are many factors that influence it such as stress and anxious thoughts.

A major change in life, sleep deprivation, substance abuse, trauma, or medication can trigger nightmares.

Also, scary movies and books can also be associated with nightmares.

There’s also this one popular interpretation: Whenever it seems like everything is going smoothly in your life, nightmares start tormenting you in order to establish balance.

This kind of makes sense, right?

Simply said, when things are going great in your life and you have normal dreams (instead of those where babies are dying or other nightmares), you might start feeling overconfident.

And so, your brain “decides” to give you nightmares.

Although this isn’t necessarily true or founded on fact, it’s an interesting interpretation for sure.

Dream Of A Baby Dying Is Connected To Hidden Emotions

Did you know that your brain processes certain events for weeks after they happen?

When you sleep, your brain is sorting through all the events and emotions that took place that day.

That is how your emotions and fears enter your dreams and some of them can be connected to dreams of babies dying.

Different types of fears can cause death dreams

When you dream of babies dying, your mind is filled with fear and that is connected to something that you’re scared of in real life.

Dreaming about a dead baby can be connected with various fears such as:

• Fear of losing something significant in your waking life

• Fear of letting go of something

• Fear of failure

• Fear of new things

• Fear of not being a good parent

• Fear of any change in your life (especially an abrupt one)

Anxious thoughts

If you’re feeling anxious about recent events or something that might happen in the near future, you’ll express these emotions in your dreams.

So, sometimes you will dream of a baby dying at birth or similar but having such dreams is not a premonition that this is going to happen in real life as well.

Some parents are afraid of having a new baby (if they’re not ready for it) and such fear can also manifest in their dreams about babies who are dying.

If you’re pregnant, the loss of a baby is one of the most frequent pregnancy dreams.

New parents typically experience the fear of losing their baby which is connected to their nightmares but in most cases, this has nothing to do with you actually losing your baby.

You might also have the fear of forgetting the baby at home or in a car which will intensify your anxious thoughts and manifest in your nightmares.

Note that dreams about someone dying are more about other things that bother you on a subconscious level and they have nothing to do with deaths in real life.

Excessive worrying about a child

This doesn’t have to mean specifically that you worry about your own child – it can be any child.

For example, you can be worried about your friend’s baby boy or baby girl. Or you can be worried about some baby that you saw on the news.

Excessive worrying increases levels of stress and anxiety.

These are some of the most common causes of experiencing hot flashes during pregnancy, nightmares, or insomnia in pregnancy.

Death Dreams Symbolize Life Changes

Dreams are all about life events, choices, and our perception of reality.

Nightmares symbolize many things that are going on in your life at the moment.

For example, a dream where you are carrying a baby isn’t a sign that an actual pregnancy is in your future.

It can be connected to your personal growth.

What’s more, having a dream that someone has died doesn’t mean that you or someone in your life will be dead soon.

This often symbolizes life-changing events.

Death of your own inner child

Many people still have an inner child (especially if you were too dependent on your parents or other people when you were a child).

Your inner child still exists within you in the shape of clinginess, temper tantrums, or still being dependent on others from time to time.

As you grow older, bolder, and more responsible for your own life choices, your inner child gradually decreases – dies – and is replaced by a new you, a grown adult.

So, if you’ve just had a dream of a baby dying, this might symbolize that your inner child has died.

Start of a new phase

A dream about babies dying is one of the most common dreams for those who are starting a new phase in their life.

A new life equals new emotions and a new you.

This doesn’t have to be anything big like moving to another city.

For example, I like drawing abstract art and this has always been one of my hobbies. If someone noticed me and I started making money out of this hobby, it would be a whole new chapter in my life, both spiritually and financially.

This would be a significant change that could manifest as dreams of babies dying.

You see, not every life change has to be a negative one to be connected with dreams where someone is dying.

Both positive and negative life events can have a huge impact on our dreams and reality as well.

Significant loss in life

Another dream meaning of babies dying is a significant loss in one’s life.

You could be in the process of grieving over a family member, you could experience betrayal or loss of a loved one, or maybe you’re going through a divorce at the moment.

If you’re dreaming about your own death, it means you’re feeling grief for the end of something.

All these intense emotions are a part of significant changes in your life, so they might be connected to dreaming of babies dying.

Other significant life changes

Change is the only constant in life. Whenever we experience change, we leave something behind us.

This could be our old house, our ex-partner, or our old job.

Even though some of these changes are positive ones, they can still appear in your dream as babies who are dying.

Why? Because you’re letting go of a part of yourself.

These changes include new opportunities such as new projects or job opportunities, financial changes, relationship changes, and similar.

Your dreams are greatly dependent on your state of mind.

If you experience ending a relationship or getting a new job in an intense way, this emotion will appear in your dreams in the shape of someone dying.

More Baby Dream Interpretations

Dreams about an infant crying: A crying baby in your dreams means that you’re feeling upset about certain events and you might be suppressing your emotions.

Dreams about a newborn baby who is able to walk upright: This dream means that you’ll experience praise for your performance at work.
Dreams about holding an infant: This means that you will be rewarded in the near future.

Dreams about a baby who is sick: Your love life or work might suffer in the future.

Dreams about a baby talking: This might indicate that you’ll experience some hardships.

Dreams about an adorable and cute baby: This is considered a stroke of good luck.

Dreams about a baby who is teething: Everything will go as planned and someone will help you achieve your goals.

Dreams about a baby who is ugly: This indicates that you might be disappointed by someone you trust.

5 Things To Do To Make Dreams Of Babies Dying Go Away

1. Address any underlying emotions

If there’s one thing I’ve learned so far, it’s the importance of expressing ALL of your emotions and not only the positive ones.

If you’re suppressing your feelings, know that they’re bound to come out eventually.

Sometimes these emotions appear in your dreams.

If the cause of your dreams about babies dying is underlying emotions, it’s important to address them and resolve them instead of suppressing them.

2. Avoid taking OTC sleep aids that can trigger nightmares

Some OTC (over-the-counter) sleep aids (when you take them for a long time) can cause vivid dreams.

If this is the case with you, it’s high time you consider finding alternatives.

Feel free to consult with your doctor or any other health care provider about different sleep aids that won’t cause vivid dreams such as nightmares or someone dying.

3. Stick to the same bedtime routine

If you stick to the same bedtime routine this will help you reduce nightmares.

All you need to do is schedule a time when you’ll wake up and go to bed on a daily basis.

I know it’s probably easier said than done but this routine helps you establish your body’s natural rhythms which is essential for your overall health.

4. Have a pre-bed ritual

What are the things that help you relax? Is it reading, meditating, or something else?

Establishing a pre-bed ritual will not only make you relax but will tell your brain that it’s time to go to sleep.

This routine will help you reduce stress and anxiety as well which are the main causes of nightmares.

5. Reduce anxiety and stress

Lowering levels of stress and anxiety will significantly impact your overall health and dreams as well.

Try to avoid stressful situations as much as possible, walk regularly, and exercise at least 30 minutes a few days per week and you’ll significantly reduce your nightmares.

If you’re expecting, drinking lemon and ginger tea when pregnant has many benefits such as stress reduction.

There are also plenty of safe workouts you can do while expecting (e.g. swimming).

Remember, these dreams won’t last forever.

No matter how frustrated you might feel at the moment, know that a dream of a baby dying and other nightmares won’t last forever because nothing does, right?

If the cause of your nightmares is your life changes, they’re bound to stop eventually so there’s nothing you should worry about.

Once you adjust to new life circumstances, those dreams will slowly but surely start fading away.

This happened to me a few years ago.

I was moving to a new apartment in another city which made me really anxious.

Obviously, I was attached to my old place, the friends I had there, and my family.

Once I moved to the other city, I started having dreams of people dying.

At first, it was my ex-boyfriend and then I started having dreams of babies dying.

It didn’t take me long to realize that all this was happening due to a big change in my life.

I needed some time to adapt to the new chapter and everything was scary for me at first.

After some time, as I adapted, my dreams about people dying decreased and at some point disappeared completely.

Yes, I was truly relieved and so will you be! Just give it some time.

How To Go Back To Sleep After A Nightmare

1. Distract yourself and relax

Whenever I have a nightmare, getting up and starting the day becomes mission impossible.

I have become preoccupied with my recent dream, so much so that I’m not able to function properly during the day.

Also, it’s difficult to fall asleep again. So, I’ve learned that staying in bed is the least helpful method.

Instead, you can do the following:

• Meditate

• Take a long shower

• Do some yoga

• Drink a cup of tea (preferably chamomile because this will help you relax)

• Read

• Have a warm bubble bath

The goal here is to find a method that will help you relax. After relaxing, your body will naturally find sleep.

Whichever method you choose (it could be the above ones or something else), don’t force yourself to sleep because this will not help you.

Instead, wait for your body to naturally signal you that it’s time to go back to sleep.

Note: Anxiety and mood swings are the biggest changes during the last weeks of pregnancy so learning how to alleviate them will be a true life-saver.

2. Ignore the clock

I don’t know about you but whenever I have difficulties falling asleep or going back to sleep after having a horrible dream, I have this weird habit of checking the time literally all night long.

Perhaps I would succeed in going back to sleep if I hadn’t wasted my time worrying about what time is. Oh, sweet irony.

Do yourself a favor and IGNORE THE CLOCK.

Constantly checking the time will make you even more anxious, so you’ll never fall asleep again.

I wish I had this persuading power on myself, too.

If you need an alternative for checking the time, you can try counting sheep.

I know it’s a little bit of a cliché method but if you give it a try you might be surprised (and back to sleep in record time).

3. Remember that it’s just a dream

Coincidence or not, but last night my friend’s sister dreamt about giving birth to a lifeless baby girl.

Needless to say, she was scared senseless and called her sister and told her everything about her dream.

They ended up talking for hours (instead of sleeping) because she felt disturbed and was literally afraid of falling asleep again.

Whenever this happens to you, I’m sure you can also call someone close to you who will help you cope with it.

Or you can always wake up your spouse and talk to them about it.

But also, remember that it’s just a dream.

It’s not real and it doesn’t mean someone is going to die soon so you shouldn’t worry about it or take it too seriously.

I understand that sometimes it’s hard to think rationally, but you can always try.

If all else fails, have a warm bubble bath and a glass of wine.

Takeaway

If you’ve ever had a dream where a baby died (or if you have it in the future), there’s nothing to worry about.

Dreams about babies dying or someone else dying generally don’t mean that you or someone close to you will die soon.

Mostly, these dreams happen due to underlying fears, emotions, and significant life changes such as moving to another city, the loss of your loved one, and similar.

Once you adapt to new life circumstances and address your underlying issues, your nightmares will decrease and eventually completely stop.