You’re Pregnant! Now What?

by Erica McMillan for Marquette Magazine

Pregnant? Now what?

Get ready to take an active role in your maternity care.  Becoming a parent is an adventure that will bring you to the extremes of every emotion you never knew you had, at one point or another!

The birth of your baby will be a huge turning point in your life, it’s one of the most important and memorable experiences you will have and carry forward with you.  Such a huge turning point in your life is worth every bit of time and effort learning about all your childbirth options. It can also be a deeply enriching time as you gain new insights and perspective about your body, life, and your ability to go beyond self-created limitations.

The First Steps

First off it’s important to identify what’s important to you.  Once you know this it will be easier to make decisions about your birth environment, to choose a care provider that will listen to you with respect and honor your choices, and to communicate with your partner and birth team.  Invite your partner and/or primary support person to join you in this process as they will be your strongest advocates during labor, birth, and postpartum.  The more prepared everyone is to ask questions and make requests on your behalf, the more set-up you’ll be to have a healthy and empowered birth experience.

Educate Yourself

Maternity portrait by Erica McMillan of Soullenz Photography in Marquette, Michigan.

Don’t worry, most of us don’t know much of anything about pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, or newborn care until we become pregnant and the best lessons are often learned by doing, you will figure it out as you go.  There is much to discover but nature gives us 9 months to prepare for a reason!

You are surrounded with a wealth of knowledge in today’s world and you have limitless access to information at your fingertips about pregnancy, birth, and baby care so, dig in!

Start asking questions to other parents, sign up for a natural childbirth education class, read healthy pregnancy magazines and birthing books, watch documentaries on childbirth (the positive ones!).  Reach out within your community to find out about local resources available to you.  You will find that people love to share their experiences whether you want to know or not.  Just remember to retain the good tidbits and don’t hang on to the worrisome ones. Every woman’s birth is unique to her.

Just by making a commitment to get educated about the changes you’re going through you’ll have a better idea of what to expect and be better prepared for the endless decisions you will face in becoming a parent.  There’s no one size fits all answer and with a healthy curiosity and some information exploration you will be lead to down the path that’s right for you.

To see more beautiful maternity portraits visit the Soullenz Photography website!

by marquette_magazine