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Pregnancy: Preparing for Labor |
Although nothing anybody says can ever completely
prepare a woman for the day she delivers her first
baby, there are some simple suggestions that should
help make this amazing experience a little bit easier.
First of all there are three very honest realities
about childbirth that your doctor, mother,
grandmother, and maybe even your best friend will
probably not tell you.
- Unless you have an exceptionally carefree attitude
about life in general, you will be shocked if and when
your water breaks.
- Unless you have an extraordinary ability to see
into the future, you will be scared to death during
the first hour or so of labor.
- Unless you have an extremely high tolerance for
pain, you will feel excruciating, seemingly unending
waves of pain.
These simple facts come from personal experience and
are not intended to instill unnecessary fear. Each
woman's experience is different, so not all details
will apply to everyone.
But if you take the time to consider options to
prepare yourself for that big day, you may benefit by
being as ready as anyone can possibly be for the
consequences of childbirth.
Believe this much for sure, you will appreciate almost
any helpful hints you can remember when you realize
you're going into labor. Most pregnant people will
find the following recommendations valuable for
reducing stress for you and your labor partner on the
day you deliver your first baby.
- Pack your bag to take to the hospital at least a
month in advance. Nobody can positively predict your
exact due date and your baby is actually the person
who decides when your delivery will occur.
- Make a checklist for what you want to take. You
should definitely include: a mirror and your makeup
bag (believe it or not when you're not staring at that
little miracle in your arms, you will want to look at
yourself especially when the parade of visitors start
marching into your hospital room); two or three
nightgowns (preferably comfortable ones that provide
optimal coverage of your post-pregnancy physique); a
hair brush and hair dryer (every hospital has showers,
soap, and towels); an outfit to wear home from the
hospital (and don't choose cute little pre-pregnancy
clothes because nobody loses the weight they gained in
nine months immediately after giving birth and it will
only annoy you if you can't fit into the only outfit
you have to go home in)
- Have a list of phone numbers of the people you can
call anytime of the day or night for help. (Don't even
try to handle it alone - YOU WILL NEED AND WANT HELP
when this exciting, emotional event begins to occur.)
There's several signs that labor has started. Warning
signals vary from woman to woman. Some people know
what it is the second it hits them, while others may
not recognize what's happening for hours. Don't expect
the promises or predictions made by medical
professionals or even experienced great-grandmothers
to actually come true for you. In most cases some
combination of destiny and mother nature determine the
details of your long-awaited delivery.
Some simple indicators that you're going into labor
range from a mild backache to piercing stabs of pain
and vary from a feeling of general discomfort to an
abrupt release of water.
If you don't feel right, but you're not screaming in
pain, call your doctor. If something suddenly takes
your breath away, makes you feel faint, breaks you
down to the floor or wakes you in the middle of the
night, forget the doctor, stay as calm as possible and
call for whomever can come to help you the fastest.If
your water does break in the stereotypical way,
gushing uncontrollably all over the place, don't freak
out. Maintain your control as much as humanly possible
at this point and realize you cannot stop this rushing
release running like a river out of your body. You can
keep putting towels between your legs to try to soak
it up, but your shorts or sweatpants are still going
to get wet.
Don't worry about what other people will think about
your dripping drawers when you get to the hospital.
You're about to deliver a baby -you're not supposed to
look calm, classy, elegant or graceful! Just
concentrate on getting to the hospital safely.
You may feel like you're in the middle of an
earthquake that will surely destroy the entire planet
and assume everyone else will realize the urgency of
this occasion. But they probably won't react with any
alarm because the reality is your world is the only
place that has been hit by this tidal wave of
emotional trauma.
To wait and wait some more; to fill out forms; to find
yourself pacing the halls until they assign you to a
room; to see other women in similar situations; to be
told your doctor has been delayed; to scream at your
labor partner when he forgets what to say and what not
to say to try to make you feel better; to forget
something on your checklist and to deal with the labor
pain getting worse before it gets better.
Everyone to accommodate you; everything to occur as
you planned; any immediate results; everyone to be
organized; your labor partner to be perfect; to find
friendly faces among the other pregnant people; to
hear your doctor tell you to start pushing your little
miracle out as soon as he examines you; to get
painkillers prescribed in mere minutes; and to be able
to remember all the things you learned to try to
prepare for this day.
Do try to maintain your focus.
Do try to preserve your precious energy (You will need
it especially if you happen to be one of those poor
souls whose pregnancy just won't end and your labor
lasts for longer than a day or two)
Don't hesitate to tell your doctor or nurses exactly
how you feel.
Don't hesitate to ask any question that pops into your
head.
Do listen to what your doctor and nurses tell you.
Do listen to what your body is saying.
Do listen to what you're feeling in your heart.
Do listen to what your labor partner is commanding you
to do.
Don't forget how long you waited for this day to
arrive and how special this date will be to you
forever.
Don't forget how much you want this little baby to
arrive healthy and what a blessing this tiny person
will always be to you.
And finally trust your gut instincts, your doctor's
words of wisdom, your partner's suggestions to soothe
you and your ears when you hear the sound of your
baby's first cry announcing his official arrival into
this world.
The rest of this incredible experience will probably
proceed with no major problems, following the same
intense, phenomenal pattern of the billions of births
that occurred before the day of your delivery.
Believe it or not, no matter how much the pains of
labor torture your pregnant body or how many hours the
process takes before your first baby actually bounces
into this world - you will forget about how much your
killer contractions hurt and how time seemed to
standstill as your labor lasted and lasted and
lasted...
Also believe your life will never be the same from
this day on. Your new job as a mommy will be the most
rewarding, most exhausting, and most challenging
career of your life. Nothing in the universe can begin
to compete with the passion, love, and wonder you'll
experience as you watch this tiny person grow and you
feel like he's really your own heart and soul with
little arms and legs.
Treasure every moment of the miracle of motherhood. |
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