Creating Your Best Birth Experience

Theresa — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 18:28:00 GMT

Expectant moms all hope to have healthy, happy, babies that sleep well and thrive. Your labor and delivery or total birth experience will be a memory that stays with you for a lifetime. Often, not much thought is given to the moments leading up to the arrival of your new baby. Many moms just accept that they will follow the path that most do -- wait for labor, go to the hospital, have their baby, go home after 48 hours. This mental preparation is all some women need or want. They focus on how they will care for a new baby and not as much on the event of the baby's birth -- aside from determining what pain medication you may want or if you want to breastfeed right away.

More and more women are taking a proactive role in their care and their birth experience. Women are choosing birthing centers and more specialized care. Doulas are rising in popularity and offer emotional and physical support during and after birth. Birth plans are written to express the preferences and wishes of the mom so that they have the expereince they want -- not what is "standard practice."

What would create the best birth experience for you?

Would you have family attend the birth in the birthing suite? Would you have your baby at home in an intimate welcoming with your spouse and a midwife? Perhaps some little touches at a hospital could make all the difference, like music or a room that looks like home and not a hospital.

The people who surround you condtribute to your positive (or negative) expereince. When you are going through what could be the most anticipated, most intimate and beautiful experience of having a baby for the first time, you should be surrounded by people who genuinely care about you and the experience you are having. Doulas are very good at being your support and your advocate. Labor can be overwhelming and having a person who has experience, compassion and a genuine passion for positive birth experiences can really help you through labor and delivery and keep it positive.

In the end we want a healthy baby (and that is the end goal) but the event of birth can have a lasting impact on a mom emotionally. Being prepared and informed will help shape the experience to be a happy one. The support of family and friends to help you through the good and bad will make all the difference.

Here are some free tools to help you plan the best birth experience for you.

Free Printable Birth Plan
Free Printable Hospital Checklist
Discover Birth and Happiest Baby Classes
DONA International
CAPPA (Childbirth and Postpartum Professional Association )

Wishing you a wonderful and positive birth experience!

Do you really need a birthplan?

Theresa — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 23:48:00 GMT

A birthplan is a great tool to work through with your partner or coach so that you both are making informed decisions about the birth YOU want. I had a filled out a standard (but very meaningful to me) birthplan and hoped to have the birth experience I planned for. It didn't work out that way. It was a difficult delivery with complications that ended up being a birth so far from the natural one I had hoped for. Although my birthplan was available to my doctors and nurses, it was no longer a point of reference when birth became more of a medical emergency.

I still believe a birthplan is necessary although I have since talked to nurses that think of birthplans as a "nice idea" for first-time moms but that rarely take them too seriously. I think it’s quite different when you are working with midwifes and doulas who may have a more holistic approach then some in the medical profession and tend to take your wishes and preferences more seriously.

Filling out a birthplan gives you an opportunity to think about pain management, potential medical interventions, breastfeeding and recovery. It will help you think about different scenarios and make tough decisions that you may have a very hard time doing while actually in labor. For example, some hospitals have their own protocol for babies after delivery so you will want to let them know if you want to watch the birth with a mirror, hold the baby immediately after birth or begin breastfeeding right away. Specify what you want and let everyone on the birth team know.

Prior to admittance to the hospital, discuss your plan with your doctor or midwife. Provide your doctor and the hospital with a copy of your plan and also pack a copy in your hospital bag.

All LaborKits come with a comprehensive birthplan for you to fill out as well as a Share The Joy Contact list and a Hospital Checklist. Be prepared for the big day!

LaborKit.com Blog : hospital checklist

Creating Your Best Birth Experience

Do you really need a birthplan?