This is information that I have gleaned from my midwife and other mothers. I'm a Registered Nurse and have taught breast feeding basics in the past as well as education for new mothers. This page contains helpful tips about things i have found to be useful during my pregnancy and the 6 months so far that I have been a mom.

On being pregnant:

Books to read while pregnant:
a must read is "INA May's Guide to childbirth." It has so much helpful, POSITIVE information, this book really prepared me for labour. I wasn't scared any more after reading this. I enjoyed the real birth stories that made me feel like I could actually do this. I also found the imagery and blowing techniques extremely helpful in labour and attribute it to how quickly I was able to dilate. My friends who also read this book agree with me as well on this point. My husband likes to say: "Ina May may be a hippie, but hippies know how to give birth."
The 'what to expect while you are expecting' books can be helpful, but they are full of information that may or may not scare you. I would read this with a grain of salt. The only reason I say this is b/c of the labour and delivery section. Ina May's book is more useful. the WTEWYAE book talks about stuff but doesn't go into detail about why or why not you may want to do something.

Midwives and Doulas vs Doctor care: I knew I would have a midwife if I ever became pregnant and my choice was a fantastic one. I went through Pacific midwifes group and had 2 practitioners that saw me during my entire pregnancy. I had 1 hour visits every 6 weeks and during this time I felt comfortable to talk with both of them about anything. Honestly, I connected with one better than the other initially and as it turned out, the one I didn' t click with initially was my midwife in labor and she was so fantastic that she became known as our baby's hero and I now love her. As I became closer to my day, they saw me every week. When It became time to call my midwife, she came to my house, checked my progress and drove us to the hospital. She stayed and coached me through the entire process from 2 am to 10am, leaving 2 hours after the birth. She came with me into the OR when i knew no one (my husband could not come in until i was fully prepped- 30 min later). After she visited us every day while in hospital, gave great breastfeeding support and came to our house every 3 days for a week to check our son and his weight. We had a further 8 weeks of follow-up care in which she carefully followed the growth of our son.

Doula care: is something that you can also choose and my friend was recommended one by another friend of hers. She was paid by the hour. She came to her house and stayed with her during the labour there, went to the hospital and took care of her for several weeks afterwards, even helping with cooking, cleaning and laundry. My friend loved her doula and would not do a birth without this kind of care.

A Good Massage therapist: Can help relieve swelling and provide pain relief for your back and hips. The hormone relaxin starts hitting your system around 16 weeks and will cause your joints to stretch to accomodate your growing baby which can be very painful.

Maternity Belts: can help with back pain when you start getting really big. They lift up your abdomen and provide support to your back. I bought one at MOTHERHOOD MATERNITY and used it mostly at work.

Swelling: A daily foot bath with bath salts or epsom salts for 20 min in cool water will help to relieve swelling. Also, ensure you are elevating your feet for at least 30 min each day, so that your feet are above your heart. If you have any sort of congestive heart failure though or heart problems, speak to your doctor first about foot elevation. Drink plenty of water as well- even though you will have to go to the bathroom more often. Sodium binds with water and are needed to flush the excess fluids from your body. You can also try seeing a massage therapist to help improve your circulation or have your partner rub his hands lightly on your feet and move upward your legs. Avoid the ankle area until you are 38 weeks pregnant as ankle stimulation can stimulate labor.

RED RASPBERRY LEAF TEA: This tea nourishes your uterus. Some experts recommend taking it throughout pregnancy while some recommend taking only in the last trimester. Personally I started taking it in the last 2 months of pregnancy. I took 9 month tea (From GAIA GARDEN in Vancouver) to help prepare the uterus for labor.

Evening PRIMROSE OIL: Is a natural prostiglandin. Prostiglandin is a hormone that is released in your body and responsible for allowing your cervix to soften and dilate. EPO encourages this relaxation of your cervix. Start taking it around 38 weeks to begin the process. Ingest 4 caps orally and insert 4 caps vaginally every night (100mg each).

Exercise! I read some books that said you don't need to exercise. You're pregnant and should sit on a lily pad for 9 months. This is complete and utter nonsense. I was used to exercising at least 3 times a week and would go for walks. When I started to feel short of breath from my walks, i quit walking. This only made things worse and I felt worse. I suggest walking as much as you can do, swim or do other yoga. Keep up your core strength as much as possible which will help you during labor. Labor is HARD WORK and being in shape will help you before and afterwards to recover quickly.

Supplements to take while pregnant to boost your immune system: Vitamin C. The last 4 weeks or so will defeat even the strongest immune system as baby is growing so much and taking all your resources. Encourage your immune system with Vitamin C. You can safely take up to 1,000 mg a day safely during pregnancy- unless you are addicted to fruit and veggies, and then you can take a smaller dose. ACIDOPHILOUS SUPPLEMENT- acidophilous is a healthy bacterium that is found in our bowel system and helps us to digest our food. It also prevents YEAST infections. IF you are given antibiotics or are under immune stress (being pregnant), then this supplement will help to improve your immune system. Continue to take this supplement while breastfeeding as new moms are prone to infections, especially those caused by yeast. A healthy digestive tract promotes good health. This good bacterium is also found in some yogurts that have been fortified by pro-biotics such as ACTIVIA brand.

Induction: If you are living in the United states and your doctor wants to induce you, please be aware of the dangers of CYTOTEC. It is a pill that is inserted into your vagina and disolves at your cervix, causing strong contractions to occur. This is a drug that has NOT been approved for use by the FDA for inductions and was designed for use with the treatment of stomach ulcers. Doctors seem to like to use it in the states as it is successful to start labour, however it is so potent a drug that the contractions it causes can rupture the uterus or force amniotic fluid into a womans blood stream. While many women have had successful inductions with its use, it is also quite dangerous, harmful, even fatal in some cases. Please be aware that this drug exists in the US. I have not heard of its use in Canada. Also be aware to question drugs that your doctor plans to give you. You have a choice and can refuse treatment in exchange for one that is safer for you and your baby.

Braxton Hicks Contractions: Can be very strong and painful at times! They occur more when you are dehydrated as your uterus is actually irritated from the lack of water in your system and contracts in response. IF you have these very frequently, drink water and see if they go away. However, Braxton hicks contractions do train your uterus for labour and prepare baby for the upcoming show.

Dilation and Effaced: This can happen weeks before you are actually going to go into labour. My midwife never bothered to tell me how i was doing in this regards and i was thankful to her for two reasons. #1- Getting a vaginal check is very uncomfortable. I hated her doing it when i was in labour and she kept it down to 3 times. THat was enough and towards the end of my labour, the check was more painful than the actual contractions and i needed the gas to just get through it. #2. You can be dilated for weeks before you go into labour- most women are. However, if you know you are dilated, you get more excited that you will go into labour and stick around the house. My midwife knew lots of women who would sit around the house for weeks because they were dilated and thought they would go into labour at any given time. This just creates anxiety and more stress is bad for you.

Loosing your mucous plug: I lost only a bit of mine. It was exactly that- mucous. It looked like snot from my nose does and I noticed it when i wiped after going to the bathroom a couple of days before labour. When I actually was in labour, more came out at a time and there was blood when i wiped as well. This was the 'bloody show' according to my midwife. This started 3 days or so before i went into labour.

On Labor, what to pack and While in the Hospital:

Managing contractions at home: Also wonderful is a hot shower or holding onto your partner for support. Walking during a contraction can also feel very good. Make sure you are drinking and eating if you feel like it. You will need the strength for later when you don't feel like eating anything. Drinking water is good and refreshing during labour. I drank water the entire time and when I ended up needing an emergency c/s, there were no problems. I had a spinal and they gave me some medications to keep me from vomitting during surgery.

Buy some ARNICA: It's a natural anti-inflammatory. It can be bought at an herbal or natural health food store. It comes in a cream (good for bruises) or pellets. You want to purchase the pellets and at least a 30ch dose. You may want 200ch if you are recovering from a lot of tearing or surgery. It helped me imensely to get over the pain from surgery. I took them for about 10 days and I was walking (very slowly) on the street four days after labor.

Bring a HOT PACK! Get something that will cover your low back. This will help with the contractions as pain starts in your back and works its way to your abdomen. It will be great if you have any kind of back labour.

Massage Ball: Have your partner be ready to give you lots of massage during labour. We got a great massage ball at Bath and Body works which felt fantastic.

Nursing Bras: Don't forget to buy a couple of these. I have 2 for sleeping in and 2 for daytime. Don't purchase ones with underwire as these can increase your chances for developing mastitis.

Menstrual Pads: I bought Always Nighttime pads and used these for about 2 weeks. I used the hospital's pads for 2 days afterwards (2-3 at a time with wrapping fashionable hospital brand mesh panties in absorbant sheets). You will bleed a fantastic amount for the first 2-3 days. Then it slows a bit. I bled for a total of 6 weeks- 1 week fairly heavily, 3 weeks lightly and 2 weeks just a wee bit. If you have a vaginal birth you are more likely to bleed more heavily for a longer period of time. During a c/s they clean out the uterus which means you bleed less. Also, everyone is different of course. Another tip: I read on someone else's profile that your child's diapers also make excellent pads for you during those first few days of heavy bleeding.

Gatorade: If you like this drink, bring a stockpile with you to the hospital. Plan on drinking 2 500ml bottles a day. Its really refreshing over ice. After not eating or drinking too much except water for 2 days I really needed to replenish my sodium and potassium levels.

Music: We made a labor playlist for our IPOD. Don't put on any songs that may annoy you in anyway. Any little thing can be very distracting, annoying and cause you to burst out irrationally.

Lanolin Cream: Had a few different uses for us. 1. Conditioning my nipples- I applied it after every nursing session. 2. Applied it to my baby's very dry skin and it healed it very fast. 3. Applied it to our noses which became very dry and bled after 4 days in an air-conditioned environment.

Labour Team: I fully utilized my mom, sister, husband and midwife. One person kept a hot pack on my back, one person kept a cold pack on my head and one person could relieve the other or go heat up stuff in the microwave or get me water. In labor I was only capable of giving one worded answers while I could think rationally. This was partly due to the gas and pain, but it made communication otherwise difficult. Make sure your labor team knows what you want to have done.

Nitrous Oxide Gas- the mouth piece: The gas is AMAZING stuff. It made me feel like i was off in space on another planet- not unlike being really drunk. Many women don't have a good experience with the gas and this is mostly due to the mask they have to wear over their face. Many women find this mask causes them to feel clausterphobic. My care practitioner gave me an option and I used a mouth piece that I would just breathe in and out of. This also makes the gas come into you at full force as its not lost out the sides of the mask.

Contraction Pain: The gas managed the pain well although towards 10cm I was feeling it no matter how much of the gas I sucked in. I didn't need an epidural either- but I was waiting for the pain to get beyond how much I was expecting it to hurt. Either I have a high pain threshold or it wasn't too bad- But i have had more painful massages. Contractions feel like extreme menstrual cramps. I used to need heavy duty anti-inflammatory drugs to get me through a couple days of menstrual cycle pain, so a few hours didn't seem like too bad. Contractions last anywhere from 45 seconds to 90 seconds and intensify, peak and fade. As you get towards 9-10 cm, the contractions pile together and you won't get a break from the pain.

Bloodwork: Get any blood work you need done when you first arrive at the hospital. The earlier you do it when you are not as dilated, the easier it will be for it to be done. Its extremely difficult to stay still in the middle of a contraction and the further you are along in dilation, the more contractions you have and they are closer together.

** About surgery: After 6 months, I am still recovering. I can do everything as I could before, but I still have some degree of numbness over my entire abdomen area. I also have some pain to the incision area when my baby stands up on me. My friends who had fairly difficult labours and tearing and stitches are feeling fully recovered. There is no after effects or scarring after a vaginal birth. I do not recommend women to have surgery unless there is no choice. My labour went well until my water broke and meconium came pouring out. He was also in a breech position and this would have created a very harmful situation I had tried to birth him vaginally. I chose at that point to go through with surgery. I had to endure several contractions with no medications and have a spinal placed between them (which at 10 cm, contractions are continuous so you wait for a smaller rather than bigger contraction). I could not move for 6 hours after surgery and could not see or hold my baby for an hour and a half after birth. This was probably the worst part about the entire procedure.

Keep in mind that while in labor you will loose all sense of modesty. You will not care what happens to you as long as you are comfortable to some degree and your baby is safe. You may just feel like a wild animal. One thing that surprised me was how I felt about doppler checks. I could not stand ANYTHING touching my abdomen. Being in labor was the most amazing experience of my life. Afterwards I couldn't believe that I was capable of doing it. It made me feel extremely powerful. Women are amazing! Stay positive- you can do anything you put your mind to. This was the most important thing I gleaned from reading 'Ina May's guide to childbirth.'

I went into labour on November 18 at 8am, contracting every 10 minutes until later in the day. At 4pm the contractions started getting stronger but didn't start getting closer together until 10pm. At 1:15 am I called my midwife and mother and sister as the contractions were coming every 3-4 minutes. I was 3-4 cm dilated and during a contraction going up to 7cm. I went to the hospital, got into the tub and started on the portable gas. I stayed there for 4 hours, contracting well and managing the pain well with the gas. I moved to the bed at 6am for a check and I was 9.5 cm dilated. The gas they give you at the bed comes from the wall and is much stronger and mangaged my pain well. The whole time I was trying to break my water myself but it wasn't happening. I asked the midwife to do it at 7:45 when I was at 10 cm and still not feeling good urges to push. She did it and meconium came pouring out. They called the pediatrician. She did another vag check and thought that it wasn't his head after all, but his bottom. ( I was at -2 station and head down on tuesday, the 13th). The obstetrician was called and they used the ultrasound. It was confirmed and I was wisked to the OR within 5 minutes. I had 3 contractions on the way to the OR and before I got the spinal in. That was the worst part- no gas and trying to stay still during the contractions. The surgery was more scary and I couldn't hold the baby of course until I got back to my room, an hour and a half after his birth. Still, he latched right away and has been an expert feeder. He is 5 days old now and I am completely in love. I would do the labour again in a heartbeat- It made me feel so powerful as a woman. I would not do the surgery again if I can help it, I'm still recovering and in pain from that. So VBAC in 2 years or so for me with the next one I guess!