PLANNING YOUR BIRTH TEAM

​Creating a positive birth experience starts with a good support team.Nothing influences your birth more than your birth team. The people you have with you will forever shape your memory of the birth of your child.
Research shows that continuous support during labor can reduce complications, lower the risk of cesareans as well decrease the need for pain medication. A good support team can promote bonding, lead to an easier recovery, support successful breastfeeding, and improve your birth experience. Who doesn’t want that?!
Here’s a couple of tips and tricks to creating an awesome team of support for your baby’s big arrival. Location of BirthHome, Hospital, or Birthing Center? Tour your local facilities, get a feel for the energy and the resources available at each location. Where do you feel comfortable? Where do you feel supported? Where would you feel safe? Studies have shown that birth at home or in a birth center with a Midwife in attendance is as safe as birthing in a hospital when the mother is low risk and there is a plan for transfer should complications arise.  Each location has it’s own risks and, it’s up to you to decide where is right for you and your baby!
Care ProviderChoosing a provider who shares a similar philosophy about birth is important, but more important, is a provider who will respect your choices, regardless of it he or she would make the same decisions. Your care provider will be guiding you in your care, you want to know that that guidance is going to support your desires. If you choose a Midwife, your Midwife will provide you with complete, comprehensive care for your pregnancy, birth, and postpartum. She will support your birth plan and encourage you as the primary decision maker in your care while providing you with the information you need to make informed decisions.
DoulaDoulas are an excellent addition to any birth and postpartum support team! They provide emotional support, help with physical comfort, and can serve as a liaison to promote communication between you and the rest of your birth team. Doulas fill in if partners are not able to attend or aren’t involved. Postpartum doulas provide in home support to you and your family. Whether for birth or postpartum, doulas customize their care to support your needs. Ask your care provider for referrals to doulas in your area.
Partner Attending Childbirth Classes and prenatal visits together, reading books, watching videos, and talking about birth will help you both prepare for the birth of your child. It’s good for you both to have realistic expectations and enough support for each of you. The day your child is born, is a day you both will remember for the rest of your lives!
While birth can be a team effort, you are most certainly the star, and should have all the support you need.  A written birth plan can be an effective tool to communicate your desires and expectations effectively to your partner and the rest of your team. Together, you and your birth team can welcome your baby into the world with love and joy!