The surprising meanings behind your pregnancy dreams, according to experts

Waking up from a vivid pregnancy dream can be a little, well, shocking to say the least—especially if you’re very much single and your only child is your dog. But what do those dreams actually mean? According to one dream analyst, it’s not so much about having a human growing inside you or wanting that to happen. Rather, it’s more about your relationship with your creative side—or it’s your subconscious communicating with you in a creative way.

Decoding your body’s creative way of communicating is a good method of understanding yourself.

Astrologer and life coach Stephanie Gailing told Refinery29 that being physically pregnant in a dream could simply mean you have an idea bun in the brain oven. Maybe your dream due date has something to do with a different kind of due date in real life. Or, maybe dreaming about something going wrong with your pregnancy could mean you have a lack of confidence in whatever you want to put out into the world. Regardless, decoding your body’s creative way of communicating is a good method for understanding yourself.

There are other potential meanings behind your pregnancy dream: Gailing added it could straight-up have to do with your feelings about parenthood—good or bad. Or, as psychotherapist Matt Lundquist told Refinery29, it could be about other issues in your life that have to do with sexuality, relationships, or your fears.

The next time you have a pregnancy dream, don’t fret so much about what it says about your biological clock and just keep an open mind: Lundquist said the common denominator in all these potential meanings comes down to one thing: change. If your subconscious is trying to tell you it’s time to deal with whatever is going on in your life, maybe you should.

Check out the dream-inducing bedspreads on sale at Anthropologie right now. Or, check out the fitness class of your dreams: chocolate yoga.