I bet you’ve been asked a million times if you are afraid or nervous for delivery or becoming a parent and if you are anything like me, (tough and stubborn) you would have been like nah I got this! So what do you do when the fear of labor and delivery sets in? It might not be the pain or the experience you are fearing but the fact that you will now be responsible for a life. Someone so tiny and fragile. Every decision you will make will effect them in a profound way.
How do we know that the ideas of parenting we have been focusing on will in fact not screw up your child? Because isn’t this really just an experiment? Do any of us really know what works and what will or won’t scar them for life? We don’t!! There is a joke in our family that mom and dad were practicing on the older siblings until they got it right with my youngest brother. I feel like there is some truth to this haha.
I’ve never been afraid of physical pain but more heart ache. Losing a loved one, someone hurting because of me. So I am not afraid of labor and delivery but more of what if I do something to hurt my baby, lift something too heavy, slip and fall. Eat something that makes her sick. What if during labor I hurt her because I didn’t know exactly what to do. How do we avoid these fears? We can’t , but we can be more prepared. I would like to tell you to ask your doctor what to expect but in some clinics you are just a number and they want you in and out as quickly as possible, which is sooooooooo frustrating as a hormonal forgetful pregnant woman!! I am constantly forgetting my questions and feeling rushed which makes me anxious and a little mad. Try this!!
Write down your questions for your doctor. Ask them about accurate literature that you can reference. (STAY OFF OF GOOGLE)
Get connected to your health center, they usually have a maternity nurse on staff that will sit with you and help you navigate all the info you might be drowning in.
Get connected to an expectant mothers group on either social media or in real time. Being around other like minded people helps you feel more normal when your hormones are telling you, you are a psycho.
Be careful what pregnancy books you read, I accidentally read all the wrong books. All the things that can go wrong. I was terrified of moving in the beginning of my pregnancy because I read about all the terrible things that can happen 1/1,000,000 things!
Lean on your friends and family who have done this before. Some people are afraid of giving unwanted advice so be direct with your questions don’t expect people to tell you. ASK the hard stuff, the gross stuff, I feel like I was super lucky this way my girl friends all had so much information for me. Even the weird stuff haha.
But mostly just know that we won’t ever get it perfect but that is what makes us who we are! The mistakes we make teach us and help us grow.
Books I loved and would recommend, that are more information less what could go wrong.
Healthy Beginnings -The society of obstetricians and gynecologists
Nurture- Erica Chidi Cohen
Essential oils for Pregnancy, Birth and Babies- Stephanie Fritz LM,CPM ( The Essential Midwife)
Denali Health & Wellness 