What happens at prenatal visits and what to avoid during labor?

[Mattemma]

Avoid interventions. I have read when you do one it leads to another and another.Like sweeping the membranes,puncturing the sac,giving a bit of pitocin,vacuum the baby out,not progressing well then off for a c-section.

Labor in the position YOU want to labor in. I found laying on my back extremely painful. I had home births with my 2 (9.8lb and 9.6lb) so that is where I am coming from. I really hated labor.A wimp when it comes to pain,but despite that it was doable for me at home.Still wish I would have had smaller babes,lol.

Oh and prep for labor and birth.Sometimes women give birth in a car or at home when they plan to have an epi and an OB do it all. I had a mom on my one mommy list who ended up delivering in her kitchen with her dh helping. I had shared my own births and it helped her stay calm,and not think of it as they will die if help did not arrive before the birth.She was prepped for it and they did well.

Prep,make a birthing list,but be flexible.Wishing you well!

 

[SourRoses]

Great advice!

I also forgot to add my moms one biggest peice of advice.... relaxation.
You need to work on it the whole time your pregnat, before is good too! Work on relaxing EVERY muscle in your body. When you tense muscles, you intensify pain X alot! The more relaxed you are, the less pain you will feel.

What you see on TV is a bunch of hysterical women screaming at the top of their lungs.... in reality it doesen't have to be that way. Not saying you will be sitting around having the time of your life, LOL... but it doesen't have to be so bad as women so often make it on themselves (excluding bad scenarios of course).

Just think... next time you see some woman giving birth on TV and screaming.... how many muscles does it take to let off a good shriek? That's how many muscles she is tensing and how much she is intensifying her pain.

Mom told me about her "happy place"... a tropical island with no one else on it, LOL! Find a happy place in your head and a way to truly relax, and she says she never voiced more than a good "ouch" or "ow ow ow" and it wasn't the awful experience the women she knew made it out to be.

I *plan* (loosely) on trying to give birth on knees. I want gravity to help me as much as it possibly can. Will have to look for cushy knee pads, LOL!

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

The most valuable thing you can do is to make a birthing plan where you not only plan out what you want if everything goes perfectly, but also make decisions about what to do if things do NOT go perfectly.

What happens if your baby is breech? What happens if labor is not progressing, and it's been 24 hours since your water broke? At what point do you say "induce" or "pain meds" or agree to a c-section? Who will (and will NOT) be present?

Unless you already have an OB/GYN or midwife that you are comfortable with, make an interview appointment with several who accept your insurance. Find out which hospitals or birthing centers they use, and check out those hospitals.

For my youngest's birth I deliberately chose a midwife who delivered at a level III hospital. Shortly before I became pregnant, a friend had planned a home birth. The birth did not go well, and she was transported to a level I hospital for a c-section; the baby had severe medical problems and was air-evac'ed to a level III NICU. She was not able to be with her baby daughter for over a week, during which time the baby nearly died several times. There were no indications ahead of time that there might be complications. I knew I did not want that and made sure when I was "doctor" shopping that my choice delivered in a level III facility so that if anything happened, I would be close at hand, in the same facility as my newborn.

 

[swampcat]

1. Get a tradition midwife... CPM's around here seem to be more traditional than CNM's. Not only are they typically less expensive, but also more attentive and caring. You will not be just another pregnant lady.

2. Avoid being confined while in labor. Walk, squat, stretch, kneel. Use gravity, go with your feelings. Doing this will help you deal with pain, and facilitate movement down the borth canal.

3. Read Ina May Gaskin's Guide to Childbirth.

4. Watch The Business of Being Born.

5. Watch natural/homebirths on youtube, so you get the idea.


That's my two cents.... happy conceiving!

 

[mom'sfolly]

Go with what feels right to you. Every birth and every experience is different. I agree that you probably don't want a doctor with a high rate of C-sections or inductions; unless the doctor has a specialized practice that includes certain types of high risk pregnancies. You should be able to find a given hospital's C-section rate, and talking to your doctor is the best thing you can do. If your doctor won't or can't do what you want for your delivery, find another. But babies happen, and they don't always happen according to plan.

Prenatal appointments: The first one may include a pelvic exam...it may not; you will not have another until you are about eight months along, then you will have one every week.

Prenatal tests: The early test for Down's Syndrome is a blood or urine test (I can't remember which). This is an extremely time dependent test; if it is done too early or too late in the pregnancy, false positives can show up. The follow-up for a positive is usually amniocentisus (sp?)

Other tests generally include a glucose tolerance test sometime around the 6th or 7th month.

You will probably have your first, maybe only, ultrasound around 18-20 weeks. Each exam the doctor will take your blood pressure, measure your belly and feel the baby. The doctor will also listen to the baby's heartbeat.

Both my kids ended up being induced. This was not my plan, but it was what happened. With the first my water broke, and 7 hours later I had not had a contraction or had I dialated...this happened with my mom and it was 3 days later that my brother was born. With the second child I had gestational diabetes, was of "advanced maternal age" and I had a big baby that was one week overdue.

I had a small tear with the first kiddo. A small tear is better than an episiotomy, a large tear; not so much. I had a friend with a 4th degree tear, the cut would have healed faster and cleaner.

While having a plan is good, being inflexible in stupid. Babies come as they will; sometimes it is easy, sometimes it is hard, and sometimes it is scary. Like someone else, I chose a hospital with a level IV NICU, after having a friend whose child was airlifted nearly 100 miles from mom. I had the epidural because I was stupid tired, and ready to kick the nurse in the face.....

Don't let anyone else tell you what to do. Decide what is right for you, and follow that plan as best as possible. For some people the idea of having their kid without a NICU nearby gives them fits; for others the idea of an "unnatural" hospital delivery makes them sick. You need to decide where on the spectrum you land, and fit your pregnancy and delivery to that. Ignore any advice that says "only this way is right, everything else is wrong".