Educate Yourself About Birth

I really had to put some thought into today's post. Today's prompt for Jenni's blog every day in May is:

Day 8, Wednesday: A piece of advice you have for others. Anything at all.

So this one is for the pregnant women out there. Whether is your first or fifth baby, this is still important.

Educate yourself.

That may sound simple, but you would be surprised how many women have had babies, or are about to have babies and are uneducated about their options and what's about to happen to them.

Part of being a doula is educating women about their options and how to help them prevent unnecessary and unwanted interventions from happening

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Did you know that your nipples shouldn't crack and bleed? A lot of women think this is just part of breastfeeding. Yes soreness will happen, and yes it might feel uncomfortable at first, but if your nipple is cracked and bleeding, that is a sign of a poor latch. Babies can latch on to each nipple differently too.

Did you know the longer you can breastfeed on one side the better the milk is for the baby? The milk gets fattier and is better for the baby, they will gain weight better and will be able to longer between feedings. Don't listen to this 10 minute on each side crap that some Dr.'s say.

Did you know that a lot of hospitals have wireless monitoring systems? You can get monitored while being out of that bed.

Did you know that when you sign the consent form for an epidural it says in most of them that your Dr. can then do more medical procedures without telling you? Read the consent form when touring the hospital so you know what you might be agreeing to, before you're all crazy in labor. This is how a lot of Dr.'s give episiotomies without telling you.

Did you know that pitocin, the drug they use to induce you, creates a different kind of contraction than your body naturally produces? It causes stronger, longer, and closer together contractions. I know a lot of women get induced at 38 weeks, but natural gestation can go up to 42 weeks. Waiting until your body goes into natural labor and doing things to help to keep your labor from stalling can make a huge difference in your experience and in your baby.

Did you know that the baby actually releases a hormone when they're ready to be born, and that's what puts your body into labor?

A plug for doulas, did you know that having a doula at your labor statistically makes your labor shorter, and lessens the amount of interventions you might have?

And most of all, if you want a natural birth, please prepare yourself, don't just say "I'll see how far I can go" That's essentially saying you'll use pain medication. If you want a natural birth, preparation and techniques need to be involved.

Educate yourself, talk to your doctor about your options to make sure they're supportive, and write a birth plan so it's clear what you want.


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