How to Have a Successful Labor and Delivery

You are pregnant and glowing. You may be a little swollen and tired but you couldn't be happier about the anticipated arrival of your little bundle of joy. But you have many things to do before you can hold your new baby in your arms. Some of them include setting up a nursery, having a baby shower and planning the birth of your baby. When it comes to planning the birth of your baby you already know what your idea of the perfect birth is. Everyone's is different. Perhaps this is your first and you want to have a natural childbirth. Or it's your second and you have a planned cesarean section because your first was an emergency cesarean. Or maybe it's your third (or fourth!) and you want the home water birth you always wanted. No matter what kind of birth you want you must plan ahead, play it safe and be prepared for the unexpected.

No one knows what will happen when you enter that delivery room past the fact that you are there to have a baby. Although women have been doing it for centuries, and without that epidural you may beg for, things can always take an unexpected turn. Now, you've done your research. You went to one of the trendy pregnancy and baby websites and printed out a play-by-play birth plan that's three pages long. Are you really going to give that to your labor nurse? Sure you are, and with a smile on your face. Let me tell you, you won't be the first or the last to do this. Making a small birth plan with a few things that you want isn't unreasonable, but going into it with those expectations (like the ones on your three page birth plan) just isn't realistic.

First off, you want to tell your doctor exactly what you have in mind. Having open communication with your doctor is key. Find out what his rules for labor and delivery are and how they compare and contrast to the rules your hospital has. They aren't always the same. If you want to have the use of a birthing ball, check to see if the hospital provides them or if you need to bring your own. You will only be able to use a birthing ball if you have an unmedicated childbirth or if you get a walking epidural. A walking epidural is a combination of spinal and epidural analgesia. It's a local anesthetic and ephedrine that isn't made to make you feel deadened but provide you with enough pain relief so that you are comfortable but still aware of your contractions. You might not be allowed to actually walk around with a walking epidural because it can cause leg weakness and low blood pressure. But it will allow you to sit on the birthing ball. Some doctors will allow you to eat during labor as long as you understand that you will most likely get sick and throw it up. But the hospital you deliver at may not allow you eat in case you have to have an emergency cesarean. There are other things to think about, like whether or not you will have access to a whirlpool tub and if you can use it during labor, or the amount of visitors you want to have while laboring and how many people you can have in your room while actually delivering. What if you want a natural childbirth? You probably don't want a nurse asking you if you want any pain medication every time she sees you in pain. Who knows, you may actually give in and it would defeat the purpose. You can think about putting a sign on your door that indicates a natural labor in progress and not to mention pain medication while in the room. Having open communication with your labor nurse is also important. Say you are having a particularly difficult time with your labor and you have relatives buzzing around your room and you can't concentrate. With one nod to your nurse she can usher them out for you to get some quiet time. Also, make sure that the room is comfortable for you. Bring things from home to make you feel at ease, turn down the lights if you want to or have music playing in the background. If you are going to breastfeed do you want to try to feed your baby right after birth or do you want to have the baby cleaned up first. There are so many more things to consider but remember not to knit pick. Being too particular can only set you up for disappointment.

Next you have to think about safety. The most important thing in childbirth is that you and the baby both come out healthy and happy in the end. Some doctors say that a cesarean is safest for the baby but that a vaginal birth is safest for the mother. Now you have to figure out where you fit into all that. Lets say you are preparing for a home birth with a midwife instead of a doctor. A midwife is a person who assists women in childbirth. There are two kinds of midwives. A DEM (Direct Entry Midwife) usually assists homebirths while a CPM (Certified Professional Midwife) assists births that take place in the hospital or birthing center. Both midwives offer prenatal care and strive to reduce c-section rates, traumatic deliveries and un-needed medical intervention. A lot of women are intimidated by home births because there is no option for any pain medication. Those women forget that women have been giving birth like that for centuries. Of course the mortality rate wasn't the same. But with the option of a midwife you can safely give birth in your home. You are free to labor where and how you like and the midwife is there to watch over, give suggestions and make sure there are no complications. If complications should arise the midwife is certified to make the call as to whether or not you and the baby should go to the hospital. You can also have a home water birth. A sterile tub is set up in your home and you can labor and deliver safely in the water. In my opinion, a hospital labor and delivery is the safest because the staff is prepared for any emergency or complication. But every woman is different and every birth experience is different. What works for one doesn't necessarily work for another. Keep this in mind as you hear others experiences and as you are making your plans.

Lastly, make sure you aren't keeping your plans so rigid that there is no room for unexpected surprises, whether they are good or bad. If you are unable to budge on any of your birth plan then you will undoubtedly end up disappointed. For instance if you are set on having an unmedicated childbirth and in the middle of intense labor you know you are at your limit, don't just suffer needlessly. If you know you are at your limit of pain ask for something small to take the edge off. If you are in so much pain that you can't enjoy the birth of your child, was it worth it? As I mentioned before you can hang a note on the door stating that an unmedicated labor is in progress but you can also add that if you ask for medicine it's ok to give it to you. Now of course take into consideration that if you are dilated to a 8 or 9 and think you are at your limit would the medicine you could be given take effect in time for the delivery? Sometimes it can, but sometimes it's just too late. If you are already that far and almost to the finish line it might be worth it to you personally to just sprint to the end, so to speak. But remember no one gets a medal for an unmedicated birth. Listen to others stories and what unexpected surprises they encountered. If there is a way to avoid certain surprises then learn from those, if not, just accept it and know that you can't control everything. If mother and baby come out happy and healthy then you know you had the best possible birth experience you could have. What more can you ask for?