Preparing for Birth

This is one of those posts intended to mainly help me keep some goals but also to share with other expecting mommies who want to prepare for their own labor and delivery.  If you're a guy, this is probably not the blog post for you.  ;)

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So, like I mentioned in a previous post,  I'm attempting to intensify my labor preparation for the rest of pregnancy (all of third trimester).  Here is a list of the things that I think are important (especially for achieving a natural, un-medicated childbirth), and how I'm preparing for them (most of these are straight from our Bradley Method class that we took to prepare for birth with Enoch, which we would highly recommend to expecting parents):

• stamina - walking or exercising 4-5 times a week.
• strength & flexibility - stretching and doing pregnant exercises everyday (squats, kegels, tailor sitting, pelvic rocks, butterflies).
• increased blood volume {this is very important since blood loss during/after delivery is common and can lead to complications for many women} - drinking ChlorOxygen (from a tincture) in my water & tea, eating iron-rich foods, and eating vitamin C-rich foods to help with iron absorption.  I will also probably begin taking an iron supplement soon, but I need to ask my doc how much per day is best for me...  ALWAYS ask your doc before beginning to take any supplement while you're pregnant, especially since many prenatals have at least some iron in them!
• healthy baby - eating a healthy diet rich in protein and fresh fruits/veggies.  

Although I've been doing most of these to some degree throughout pregnancy, I feel like the last 12 weeks are a good time to focus and work hard at preparing for birth.  I'm sure I won't keep these goals perfectly, but writing them down sure does help to see that they're manageable!  :)

For those of you who are going to be first time mamas (or who are considering trying for a natural, un-medicated birth), here are some other recommendations:

• Write up a birth plan that outlines what is important for you during labor/delivery/post-partum and talk it over with your doctor/midwife.  You'll want them to approve and sign it before you're 37 weeks along.  
• Hire a doula (labor assistant) to help you labor; they are a tremendous help in achieving natural childbirth whether you're at home or in the hospital... In fact, I wouldn't want to be delivering at a hospital without one, personally!!  We loved having 2 doulas last time (one was an old pro, the other was training under her), and they were both amazingly helpful.
• Take a birth class with your husband... preferably one not offered from the hospital (because you will want more than 4-8 hrs of class time to absorb everything about birth AND getting an outside perspective is always incredibly helpful!!).  We recommend the Bradley Method of childbirth, like I mentioned above, but there are probably other good class options as well.  
• Take a breastfeeding class (one from the hospital is probably good if your hospital has a certified lactation consultant teaching it).  You could also go to some La Leche League meetings to learn and ask questions about nursing (and to meet some helpful ladies who will gladly walk with you through any complications you might have later).