Take a childbirth education class
It is not unusual to feel apprehensive about the actual birthing process and to wonder what is really going to happen the day of your delivery. Getting education during your pregnancy can serve as a tool to help you prepare for that day. Some women are concerned that they will have no control over their labor and delivery, but with education you will feel much more confident and in control when the actual time arrives! There are three common childbirth education techniques that are taught. These include: Lamaze, Bradley, and Read. The techniques are all slightly different, but the basic theories revolve around how to manage pain by using special breathing techniques, along with exercise and diet during pregnancy. While some of them are more focused on dealing with the pain of labor without any supplemental medication, others support medication as well. It is important, before you take a class, to decide if you are planning on medications or an epidural so that you take the appropriate class for you and your focus on childbirth. Many classes will help you in developing a birth plan. It’s probably better to think about your birth preferences, because there are too many surprises in the birth process to make a firm plan. If you do outline preferences while in the class, just be sure that they will work hand in hand with the hospital where you are planning to deliver. Every hospital has different policies and procedures that they follow. Often the hospital you choose for your delivery may have childbirth classes available in the facility. Review Date: 12/1/2010
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 Encouragement + An Assist = Success Nine days past her due date, Sara Howe was awakened at 3:00AM when her water broke. Thrilled that the long wait was finally over, Sara and her husband David packed up and headed to PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center. By 5:00AM they were comfortably settled into one of PeaceHealth Southwest’s Labor Delivery Recovery and Postpartum rooms, ready for action. But four hours later, Sara contractions had still not progressed so her midwife started her on Pitocin. Soon the contractions kicked in and Sara was well on her way. At around eight o’clock the next morning, it was time for Sara to start pushing. So she pushed. And she pushed, and she pushed, and she pushed. "The first few hours of pushing went by without me realizing the time," remarked Sara. "But around the fourth hour I started to wonder if I was still making progress. That is when the encouragement of my midwife, husband and the PeaceHealth Southwest nursing staff kept me going. It was like I had my own cheering section." Unfortunately, even with all the support and encouragement, Sara’s labor was not progressing because her baby’s head was tilted in the birth canal. Neither Sara or her midwife wanted her to have a Cesarean section after all that work, so her midwife suggested an assisted delivery. Read more > Share your story. Submit your story with a local angle, and you could receive a free gift if it is selected for publication. |
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