"Let's play doctor!" my daughters, Madison (6) and Chloe (3) exclaimed in tandem. Ever since we bought them a cheap doctor kit for Christmas, you'd think they were pre-meds. I acquiesced and they took their place on my "operating table" (i.e. my bed).

 Both were equipped with their baby dolls, which led to the girls pretending they were having babies. Recognizing this as a teaching moment, and the beginning of shaping their perception of childbirth, I put a smile on my face and coached, "You've got to work hard to get the baby out - you're doing great" instead of "It hurts, oh how it hurts. Push harder." I want my daughters to view childbirth as hard work, rather than the most painful and horrifying experience any human being can possibly endure. While many of us who have children can say that the latter description heartily applies to us, childbirth has got bit of a bad rap, and I'm not sure it does expectant women a service to wail to them about the horror of it all.