8 Real Facts About Being Pregnant and Highly Sensitive
Being pregnant is a rollercoaster. Being pregnant with High Sensitivity is like feeling every turn, twist, and drop in high definition. Every emotion, every sensation, is deeply amplified.
Are you an Highly Sensitive Too?
Here are 8 facts I can share so far about how it feels from a highly sensitive woman’s perspective. Of course, experiences will vary for everyone. This was mine. Maybe you’ll find yourself in some of these descriptions — maybe not. At least, it can help you get mentally ready for what’s to come…
1. First Trimester Fatigue Hits Hard
During the first trimester, your baby grows at an incredible pace. This can cause intense fatigue, as your body shifts much of its energy toward the magical task of creating life and is transforming a single cell into a fetus.
As a Highly Sensitive Person, feeling fatigued due to overstimulation has always been part of my days, even before becoming an expecting mom. I have often felt like I couldn’t keep up with the normal pace of life.
Pregnancy made this legitimately harder.
From week 7, I found myself taking sick days off of work like a Netflix series binge—one after another. I felt some shame about it, but I also knew it was what my body clearly needed, and I had to listen.
My fiancé (at the time) took over most household tasks. Me, I could usually be found either in bed or on the sofa.
Tip: Being mentally prepared might help you feel confident to listen to your needs and rest without guilt, even if it means having less productive weeks at work.
Check out this article about “How to survive your first trimester as an HSP.”
2. Sensory sensitivity is Heightened
As an HSP, pregnancy can make your senses feel extra sharp. Sounds, smells, texture, and lights may feel more vivid than ever.
Ah, this tofu smell... I couldn't handle it AT ALL.
Standing in the kitchen and cooking wasn't an option during these first weeks of pregnancy. And the fluorescents in the office caused me so much mental pain that I had to be with sunglasses - even indoors.
I've learn to create calm spaces with gentle lighting, soft fabrics (let’s admit it - these Egyptian Cotton sheets cost me a fortune - but they are so worth it), and minimal noise.
Tip: Identify your triggers and create a calm and simple space in your home where you can retreat when your senses are bothering you.
3. You Will Fall in Love and Feel Connected to Your Baby So, So Fast.
As you might have already noticed, being highly sensitive also means feeling deep emotions and sensations. It’s a superpower that comes in very handy when caring for your child in your womb.
This is probably my favorite part of being both HSP and pregnant.
Being aware of every sensation in my body allowed me to feel my baby’s movements very early. Even though it is rare, some women can feel kicks as early as 16 weeks of gestation.
Don’t worry if you don’t feel your baby’s movements yet. It is very different for each woman, whether you are highly sensitive or not. It also depends on other factors, such as the position of your placenta. If you have an anterior placenta, you might not feel movements until later. If you have a posterior placenta, you might feel kicks more easily.
Feeling and focusing on your baby’s movements is one of the best ways to bond with your child. But even if you don’t feel the kicks yet, you still might find yourself falling in love with them from the moment you see the “+” sign on the stick!
It is one of those inexplicable things where a sensitive person has the chance to naturally imagine and deeply process what is happening: you are growing a little you, whom you will want to protect and cherish from the very beginning.
As a highly sensitive person, I also like to write and listen to music. I found myself very often writing to my baby and listening to lyrics that would bring me to tears, imagining my little boy growing inside me. This is a great practice to connect with your baby, and you might find yourself doing it naturally, as you are already used to being easily moved and emotional about the beautiful things in life.
Tip: Share your hobbies with baby. If it is painting, writing, singing or walking in nature - include them. Every experience you enjoy, your baby enjoys too!
4. The “HSP Hungover” and Anxiety Might Come More Easily.
Have you heard about the “HSP hungover”? This is a term commonly used in the HSP community to describe a very real experience: when you are overstimulated and emotionally drained, and it suddenly knocks you out. You are left “out of service” for a day or more—needing deep rest to recover and reset.
It has also been proven that high sensitivity is correlated with stress and anxiety. I myself was diagnosed with GAD (General Anxiety Disorder) about a year and a half before I got pregnant. The hormonal shifts and fatigue of pregnancy made my anxiety pop-up more often.
Even during and after very normal workdays, I usually had to regulate my breathing several times just to get through waves of anxiety - because my nervous system was too stimulated.
The overload at the end of the week was also more challenging. Before pregnancy, I might have experienced the HSP hungover once a month. During pregnancy, it appeared at the end of each week, usually forcing me to rest on Thursday and Friday evenings—needing lights off, no talking. Sometimes, even watching our favorite TV show with my partner was too exhausting. I needed to reset in a calm and quiet environment.
The positive side of all this is that it pushed me to practice slow-living, meditations, and breathing exercises even more. I understood that I had to force myself into a new, better routine.
Here, I share for free 8 Gentle Routine Ideas that helped me through this part of pregnancy.
5. Over planing vs. Overthinking : You Will Probably Plan Everything In Advance and be SO Ready for Uncertainty.
Here again, this is a specialty of highly sensitive people. We do not like being out of control because it increases our risk of being overwhelm, stress waves and intense stimulation.
Preparing for the arrival of your baby is definitely one of these things in life that can bring a lot of stimuli and thoughts into your sensitive mind. You will want to be ready in advance in order to minimize the overload.
I found myself making nesting and house chores lists from the first few weeks of pregnancy. My goal was simple: so the preparations wouldn’t fall on me all at once at the last minute, and so I could spread my energy in little bits instead of one huge chunk at the end of the third trimester.
For baby shopping, I planned sales, shops, and essentials ahead. This preparation meant only two days of overload, and then I felt like a wonder-woman moving through aisles with a perfect list—making the experience simple and organized.
Tip: Start small - write simple lists (nesting to do's, baby's shopping, birth prep,...). Having things organized on paper in small bullet points, can help you see everything more clearly in your head.
6. Creativity and Nesting are Amplified
Being sensitive means having a strong intuition for turning any space into a beautiful and enjoyable sanctuary.
Channeling our sensitivity into creativity—like choosing colors and textures, or making DIY items for the baby—is one of the best ways to spend our free time!
I personally found that preparing the baby’s nursery and organizing it with labels and cute, playful details was both therapeutic and rewarding. It helped me feel more in control and eased my stress.
I also created a beautiful Baby Tracker Template (available soon) that I could follow. It gave me a better sense of time passing and allowed me to appreciate and be grateful for each new week of pregnancy.
Tip: Start small - decorate one corner of the room, organize one drawer of the dresser, or create one DIY item at a time. These little accomplishments will reduce overwhelm, and make nesting a joyful time rather than a stressful task.
7. Social Interactions Needs are Stronger and Cannot Be Ignored Anymore
Large gatherings, loud friends, toxic colleagues at work, or unsolicited advice can feel even more overwhelming than usual now that you are expecting.
It was very important for me to plan quiet times alone and some quality time with my husband so I could reset. Setting boundaries even more strongly than usual has been essential for my wellbeing.
It became easier for me to say "no" to specific invitations when I didn’t feel like attending.
My first priority was my body and my wellbeing, because I knew it directly influenced my baby’s wellbeing as well.
Tip: Visualize your energy as a glass of water or a battery. Try to keep it from running empty by the end of your day—or even your week—and plan your social interactions accordingly.
8. The Doubts and Fears Are Real, and It’s Alright.
As highly sensitive women, we do have a lot on our plate. Our brains process everything deeply. This superpower can be handy in pregnancy, but also challenging.
We all know that growing life comes with regular health check-ups. People will tell you to eat healthy, drink enough water, and sleep at least eight hours a night.
You will also hear many different opinions about everything concerning pregnancy—what you should do and what you shouldn’t.
There is so much information out there, and it can be deeply overwhelming for someone sensitive.
It personally caused me to have many doubts and fears. Every woman, sensitive or not, will at some point need reassurance. It’s natural, even necessary.
Confidence in yourself during pregnancy allows you to make the best decisions. Even though you know what’s best, pregnancy is a completely new world for most of us. Finding your voice in this new world is key, and doubts are your survival instinct guiding you safely.
Final Thoughts
Creating this blog was important to me. As a highly sensitive expecting mother, I didn’t know what to expect, and I couldn’t find enough support or information out there. Being pregnant and sensitive is a whole different version of this world, and I hope Calm Simple Mama will become to you a useful roadmap to navigate it.