As an OBGYN and a momma-to-be, I know all too well the anxieties that come with preparing for labor! With my own due date quickly approaching, I’ve been taking all the steps to make sure that I’m as prepared as I can be for the big day. That’s why I wanted to share my personal experience with you girls and give some tips that have really helped me. Whether you’re a first-time mom or have been through childbirth before, I hope this post can give you some insights and help ease any worries. Though nerves are totally normal!
On that note, let’s chat about how I’m getting ready for labor!
6 Ways I’m Preparing For Labor:
- Birthing Class: Sounds pretty funny, right?! An OBGYN taking a birthing class! But because my husband isn’t an OBGYN, and he’s never seen/been a part of a delivery, I knew this was important and something I wanted us to do. That way, he’s not going into the situation completely blind! We already attended ours and honestly, I found it extremely helpful. Yes, some parts (for me) were boring because it’s information I already knew (they covered pregnancy as a whole, the process of labor, delivery, etc.), so that part was a bit dry for me, but Cory found it interesting and helpful. I loved the part where they discussed comfort measures and how the partners/husbands can help during delivery! It was so fun to practice breathing exercises and different positions to help with pain control. I recommend anyone who’s a first-time mom to sign up for a class.
- Breast Feeding Class: I plan to breastfeed my baby, so I want to be as prepared as possible! I know breastfeeding can be extremely challenging, so I’m excited about everything I’ll learn when I take this class in late October. I will definitely report back to you guys on how I like it! On that note, I want to make sure you all know that I’m not against bottle feeding. If breastfeeding doesn’t work out for me, welp it’s not the end of the world! But I want to go into it prepared and ready to navigate any challenges that come up.
- Packing A Hospital Bag: I haven’t done this yet, but I’ll make a video for you all once I do with all the necessities. I only plan to bring the essentials and of course, cute outfits for me and the baby lol!
- Birthing Ball: I don’t have one yet! Once I get closer to my due date, I plan to buy a birthing ball to have and use at home. Ideally, I’d like to labor at home for a bit before going into the hospital, but I’m keeping an open mind because so much is truly out of my control.
- Staying Active: I want to continue going on long walks or incline walks until I just physically can’t anymore lol. I know how beneficial exercise is for pregnancy, and it’s proven to lead to quicker labor! *fingers crossed*
- Perineal Massage: This is safe to start doing between 36-37 weeks and has been proven to help prevent vaginal and perineal tears. I plan to start doing this about 1-2x per week in hopes of decreasing my chance of tearing. Here’s a link to my video explaining this: https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZPR7YhbTn/
As always, if you have any specific questions, feel free to drop them in the comments below!
