Birth Planning I would also like to point out that some practitioners believe that birth plans are useless, or worse, that they are a directive to the practitioner, so they resent the interference! I prefer to think that they are a wish list to remind people of what you would like, in a perfect world.
Books About Childbirth Books about childbirth. Mostly for expectant parents, a few for professionals.
Giving Birth In Water GMCHA was originally incorporated in 1989, as Waterbirth International, in order to facilitate maternity care reform by helping parents and practitioners institute policies for the use of warm water immersion during labor. Our chartered purpose is to preserve, protect and enhance the well-being of women and children during pregnancy, birth, infancy and early childhood.
Is This Really Labor? Your body will usually give you clue that labor is beginning. You need to familiarize yourself with these signs.
Need for CAUTION When Using Vacuum This is to advise you that vacuum assisted delivery devices may cause serious or fatal complications, and to provide guidance to minimize the risk.
Newborn Tests & Procedures During pregnancy we focus so much on the actual birth preparation sometimes we don't devote enough time to other topics, including newborn testing.
Pain Relief for Episiotomies and Tears If you have an episiotomy, extensions, or tearing, you may want to try some of the following to help ease the pain.
Perineal Massage The better you prepare your perineal tissues for the stretching of birth, the less they will tear, and the better they will heal.
Push...Don't Push? Physician Michelle Harrison (personal correspondence) states that the physician's basing of judgment concerning readiness to push on the arbitrary standard of full cervical dilation eliminates the more physiologically efficacious possibility of basing such judgment on the woman's urge to push.
Sources of Pain During Labor and Birth The big question in everyone's mind is, "How much pain will there be for me during labor?". While we can't answer that question specifically, we can help identify some of the causes of pain and methods to deal with them.
