When Brandy Canada, 29, of New Tampa, Fla., was pregnant, she would have vivid dreams in color about being chased by an alligator. Dream experts say your nightmares during pregnancy may frighten you, but there is actually a reason for them: to prepare you for the new responsibility of being a mom. Canada, who also has two older sons, Nicholas, 6, and Jason, 9, went into labor at 28 weeks.

"My dreams, especially in the beginning of my pregnancy, would be crazy things, [like] being chased by an alligator and people being in accidents," Canada says. "I would always relate it to the fear of having a new life and the whole uncertainty about whether your baby is healthy or not."

Canada had her baby six weeks early after spending more than a month in the hospital.

Alan Siegel from of Berkeley, Calif., the author of Dream Wisdom: Uncovering Life's Answers in Your Dreams (Celestial Arts, 2003), says dreams may be interpreted through symbols.

Siegel says it's not uncommon for women who are pregnant to dream about car accidents, which symbolize a loss of control. "When you are pregnant, some of these things are not in your control," he says. "Car accidents often symbolize a loss of emotional control, which is an aspect of pregnancy."

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