Will a Doula Help With Your Birth?

If you are wondering what (or, more appropriately, who) a doula is, you have come to the right place. More and more families are using the services of doulas during and after births, both at home and in a hospital setting. The following is a brief explanation of who doulas are and what they can do for you. A doula is a trained professional who provides useful information as well as physical and emotional support for a pregnant woman during or after the birth of the baby. There are birth doulas and postpartum doulas, and each provides services during the … Continue reading →

A Birth Story – Part Three

An emergency cesarean birth is exactly the opposite of what I had envisioned for Blake’s birth. I had my heart set on giving birth at home, but my body had other plans. Perhaps it was the anesthesia, but as I lay in my hospital bed as it was being wheeled through the hallways towards the operating room, I felt like I was watching the whole thing happen from afar. It was strange being conscious during the operation. I am squeamish, so I was thankful that there was a curtain between my eyes and what was going on. My poor husband … Continue reading →

A Birth Story – Part Two

Continuing on from where I left off yesterday, after the ultrasound appointment I made the hour – long drive home from the hospital to pack my bags and meet up with my husband. I am not quite sure that reality had set in for either of us about exactly what was going on. We had been planning for a home birth, and we were planning for our baby to arrive a full month later. Those two factors taken together added up to us not having a plan for who our then two and a half year old son would be with … Continue reading →

A Birth Story – Part One

One year ago today, I gave birth to my youngest son. It was not the birth that I had planned, but then again, I am not sure how many births actually do go according to plan. What actually happened was pretty much the opposite of what my husband and I had been planning for. If you are the type of person who enjoys reading about the experiences of other people during labor and delivery, read on. If you do not wish to read a birth story, check back here later in the week for a non – birth story post. … Continue reading →

Some Thoughts on Labor and Delivery

If you are pregnant, you may want to get yourself a maternity tee shirt printed with the words “Keep Your Labor and Delivery Horror Stories To Yourself”. Seriously. If you have not noticed it already, pregnant women are a magnet for people who want to tell their delivery room tales of woe. I am not sure exactly what is behind the urge to disclose embarrassing, painful and/or scary labor and delivery experiences to women who are definitely going to be going through the process of labor and delivery some time in the not too distant future. During both of my … Continue reading →

What is Your Hospital’s Policy on Rooming In?

There are probably many questions that you may have about exactly what happens in the hospital during labor and delivery, as well as after the baby is born. It is only natural to have these questions, especially if you have never given birth before or if you are giving birth in a different place than you did previously. One thing that you may want to learn about in advance of your arrival at the hospital is what your hospital’s policy is regarding “rooming in”. Many times, a baby is born only to be whisked away to a nursery shortly thereafter. … Continue reading →

Encouraging Labor to Begin

When you are near the end of your pregnancy, one thing that you most likely wonder about is when your baby is going to arrive. If you go past your due date, you might wonder about that even more often. Babies have little regard for due dates, they come when they are ready. Near the end of pregnancy, your prenatal care provider is likely to be monitoring you quite closely, whether you are planning to birth at home or at a hospital. That is a good thing, because they can help you to determine whether your labor is beginning in … Continue reading →

Three Simple Rules for Anyone Attending a Birth

This post is dedicated to all of the fathers, partners, husbands, and others who will be attending births in the near future. While we, the pregnant women, appreciate your willingness and desire to be present at the births of our children, we do respectfully request that you follow a few ground rules during your participation in this important event. Here are a few suggestions to keep in mind when the time comes. Rule number one. Everything changes once those contractions start coming. It does not matter what I said last month, last week, yesterday, or even this morning. It does … Continue reading →

Preparing For Labor

Like all good things, each pregnancy will come to an end. What awaits at the end of pregnancy? Labor and delivery. While I am a firm believer in not telling labor stories to anyone who is pregnant, I am also a firm believer in being prepared for the experience of labor. Preparedness for labor is less about which childbirth class you take or which technique you plan to use than it is about having made a plan for how you would like to proceed. At its most basic, preparing for labor includes talking to your health care provider and getting … Continue reading →

Pack Your Bag It’s Time To Go

If you are getting close to your delivery date, it is time to pack your bag for the trip of a lifetime. Before you drag out your suitcase and start tossing in your sunscreen and beach blanket, I should tell you that it’s a different kind of trip. That all important trip to the hospital (if you are planning to give birth at a hospital) where you will give birth to your baby. In the interest of full disclosure, I must say that with both pregnancies I did not pack my bag for the hospital until right before I left. … Continue reading →