Here is a place where you can post comments about what you wish you had known going into birth.

The biggest things I learned about birth were:

1. • Know your care provider and think deeply about what you want in a birth beforehand.  Also know that it’s never too late to switch providers if something comes up that you don’t agree with!  This is your body, your birth, and your baby and you deserve to make educated decisions about that fact.  For more information go to Interviewing Your OB, Midwife, and Place of Birth.

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   • Don’t be intimidated by family who may not approve of choices if they are out of the ordinary (ie water birth, home birth, etc).  Do your homework and know your position.
   • DON’T WATCH THE CLOCK!!!!!  Just get into your birthing body, move with your contractions, get in the zone, don’t be distracted.  Watching the clock can make labor seem like it’s taking forever and frustrate any expectations you may have.
   • Be careful of having specific expectations of how labor will go.  Personally, I had the expectation that my second birth would be much shorter than my first since that’s statistically what happens.  When it was just about as long, I got immensely frustrated with my body and got very upset.  If I had gone into labor thinking, “This is my baby’s birth, it is what it is and I will make the best of it” I could have really enjoyed a slower, steadier labor instead of a fast, intense one.

Please leave a comment about the one thing that you learned about birth that you want other moms to know!