Written by Kristen @ Smithspirations, Contributing Writer

Like many moms, I don’t think I’ll ever forget my first pregnancy. My husband and I were young and utterly unprepared for what laid ahead of us! I was finishing up college, he was in his first year teaching, and neither of us gave much thought to preparing for birth.

I decided at some point that I wanted us to go to the childbirth classes held at our local hospital, and my hubby dutifully came along. We listened to the instructor talk about the birth process, potential complications, and likely interventions while wrapping things up with various breathing techniques.

After the class ended, I didn’t feel ready for birth, but at least I felt like I did something to try to prepare for the natural birth I thought I wanted. My husband was far less impressed.

It wasn’t until after my induced & medicated birth that I realized how incredibly unprepared I really was for the birth process, despite my faithful attendance and attention at the hospital class. I realized too late that I needed to do much more to educate myself about the process if I wanted to have a positive birth experience.

When we were expecting the second time, I knew I wanted something different. I didn’t want to be hooked up to all sorts of machines and have an internal fetal monitor inserted into my baby’s scalp unless there was a serious reason for it. I needed to figure out what it took to have an unmedicated birth, and I went to reading! What a difference that made!

Why Educate Yourself For Birth?

All too often, we are prone to simply take one healthcare provider’s recommendations without asking questions. We tend to forfeit our patient rights and responsibilities and simply go with procedure and protocol when we aren’t armed with information. 

When we invest the time into educating ourselves about God’s awesome and amazing design for birth, we can trust our bodies to do what they need to do in order to bring forth a new life. Rather than think about pregnancy as a risky condition and our bodies as dysfunctional, we can have confidence in the birthing process.

Sometimes things go differently during birth than we thought they would. Medical intervention is at times crucial to a positive outcome for mom and baby. When we are educated ahead of time, we can ask questions, weigh the risks, and make a more informed choice on suggested procedures.

What To Consider When Educating Yourself

There are so many questions to consider when you are expecting a new baby! This list is by no means exhaustive, but rather a springboard.

For Pregnancy:

• What is an ideal diet for pregnancy?
• What exercises help with common pregnancy complaints?
• What can be done to prepare your body for labor?
• What supplements are most helpful during pregnancy?

For Birth:

• What birth place options are available to you? Home? Birth center? Hospital?
• What pain management options are there? Medication? Water? Music? What risks do they carry?
• What are the benefits and risks of eating and drinking during labor?
• What positions and movements help or hinder labor?

For After Delivery

• What are the risks and benefits of typical newborn procedures, like eye ointment, Vitamin K shots, and Hepatitis B vaccines?
• What are the risks and benefits of circumcision (for boys)?
• What can be done to best facilitate breastfeeding in the early moments after birth?
• What pain relief options are best for afterpains after delivery?

How to Educate Yourself

There are many options when it comes to becoming more informed with pregnancy and birth. Some options will provide more reliable and up to date information than others.

• Online resources can be a great place to start, but be cautious about getting all of your information from the web.
• Books were a great help to me when I started to educate myself. I read books by well-respected and experienced figures in the natural birth world (like Dr. Bradley and Ina May Gaskin) and gained confidence because of it.
• Childbirth classes can be a great experience, too! Though my first class experience was far from beneficial, I later attended one held by my home birth midwife and greatly benefited. Ask the instructor about the class outline to know if it will be a good fit. Local doulas and breastfeeding support groups may also have suggestions.

Did you feel well-educated when you went through labor and delivery? Was there something you read, watched, or attended that helped you feel informed?

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I bought a birth ball and other birth paraphernalia. I braced myself for 12+ hours of labor, an overdue baby, drug-pushing hospital staff, and laboring on little sleep–all likely outcomes, according to my research.

On a beautiful spring morning, I woke up to a contraction. Four hours later, I was holding my tiny daughter.  She was ten days early and nearly met the world in the front seat of our car.

Labor was so fast and intense that I forgot my pretty little folder of birth plans.

My doula barely made it to the hospital, but she and a wonderful nurse coached me through about ten minutes of pushing, which constituted half my time in the delivery room.

Needless to say, it was not what I expected.

My second baby was born over three weeks early and a few weeks after we’d moved across the country.  Despite my fervent desire not to have a Christmas baby, he was born an hour and a half shy of Christmas Eve.

Just in time for my daughter to have to spend Christmas with the sweet family who was watching her. Who we’d just met.

I have friend who is a big advocate for natural birth, but had to have one baby via c-section and requested an epidural after an exhausting 20+ hours of labor with the other.

Another friend has babies who flip to breech in the final weeks of labor.  Another had zero intention of having an unmedicated birth but showed up too late for the epidural. Another delivered her first on his due date–a rare feat–and her second came out en caul.

Like the rest of life, labor and deliver is full of surprises.

That’s why I’m convinced that the best approach to birth is to surrender my expectations.

I can have hopes, preferences, and desires.  I can communicate these to my husband, doctor, midwife, or doula.

But at the end of the day, I have to hold all of this with an open hand, trusting that God loves me and will work all things together for my good.

Even the surprises.  Especially the surprises.

I didn’t feel prepared for my daughter’s early and rapid delivery, but I’m so grateful for the kindness of the nurse and my doula. (And that my husband paid enough attention in birthing classes to know when we needed to go to the hospital).

I never would have planned to have a baby just after moving to a new town. But I saw God provide for our every need amidst crazy circumstances.

My midwife friend didn’t want a c-section, but now she’s grateful that she can better empathize with women who need them.

I often try to control circumstances to bring about what I imagine is best.  But remembering how God has worked in unexpected situations gives me more confidence to trust Him–in birthing babies and in the rest of life.

Have you seen grace in the midst of the unexpected lately?

The post On Natural Birth, Hopes, and Expectations appeared first on Day2Day Joys.

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Guest Post by Shannon of Growing Slower

Most midwives are happy to have you interview them before committing to choosing their practice. Some even require an initial consultation before you schedule your first prenatal appointment. An interview is not quite as standard practice for obstetricians, but don’t be afraid to ask lots of questions at your first prenatal and change practices if necessary.

It’s great to have the peace of mind that when they do, you will know exactly what to expect from your care provider.

What other questions would you have for a midwife or OB?

Shannon Brown writes about pregnancy, parenting, and simple living at GrowingSlower. She is author of Natural Birth Stories: A Real Mom’s Guide to an Empowering Natural Birth. She and her wonderful husband of five years live in Spokane, WA. They are parents to an energetic little boy and a peaceful baby girl.

The post Top Questions to Ask Your Midwife or OB appeared first on Day2Day Joys.

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