Episode 5: Educate Yourself about Your Birth Options

Your journey to becoming a mother will teach you many things.  Not the least of which, will be to develop your ability to learn new things and make decisions fast.  At the end of my second pregnancy, I developed a condition that demanded that I take immediate action. I had to learn and make decisions that tested my ability to be a mother to my core.  I was just days away from my due date and I had an upper respiratory infection that was so severe that I was coughing all the time. I really questioned if I could labor safely with this illness. So, I contacted my midwife and told her what I was feeling, her advise was to contact my medical backup doctor and ask what to do. 

Intro

I went into the office the next day and he prescribed an antibiotic to help knock out the infection. He said it sounded like Bronchitis and gave me tetracycline just in case it was bacterial, given how close I was to my due date.  After a few days I developed a rash in all my mucus membranes, especially my labia. I went back to the doctor and they cultured the area, he said it looked like herpes! I was so scared because an initial outbreak of herpes could be life threatening to my child. It could cause brain damage or blindness if I choose to give birth vaginally.   However, I went into labor the very next day. I tried everything I knew to slow or stop my labor. I called another Dr who was friends of the midwifery and homebirth community Dr. Don Creevy to ask his opinion about what to do next. He said, “if you were my wife and had the possibility of an initial herpes outbreak right before onset of labor, I would not advise a vaginal birth.” And so, with a very heavy heart I made the call to my midwife and headed to the hospital to have a Caesarean-section. I was heart broken and yet I felt that as a mother I was doing the right thing for my son! There is much more to the story of my second sons’ birth, and I will share it with you at another time, but I share this with you now because I want you to think about how much I had to learn and absorb in such a short amount of time. And how much my choices and decisions affected my child’s life and my own. 

As a pregnant woman you have many options. You get to decide how much time and planning you will give to this life changing event. You get to choose where you will give birth. You get to choose who you will have with you at your birth. You get to decide how you will cope with labor and what tools you will use. And you get to decide just what it means, to you, to become a mother and make decisions for your child’s life. 

There are many birth options available to mothers. Every mother, regardless of the choices she makes, will grow as a mother - but some birth options may be better suited to you and your family's needs.  The important tips that I want you to take away from this pod cast is these three points. First, you deserve respect and support for the choices you make.  Next, it’s okay to change your mind. And finally, there are resources available to help you find the right choice for you. In the long run, the takeaway from today’s pod cast is that as a mother, you can and will have to learn how to make informed choices. First about yourself, and how your child will be born, and later about your child’s health, education, and development, these choices will help you to grow as a woman and a mother. 

 Your journey to becoming mom, starts when you decide to create a new human being. This decision puts your feet on the path to becoming a mother. Each decision you make will help shape your journey. And this journey will not end at the birth of your child. Oh, no…the birth is just the beginning of hundreds of decisions you will make regarding another person’s life.  Learning to find and build relationships with trusted allies is a good first step. What are you looking for in a person that you add to your team? Well first it is very helpful if they know more than you do about a given subject. They should be transparent with their background, education, and opinions. You need to look for professionals who are not afraid to answer hard questions without getting upset or taking it personally. You shouldn’t feel like you have to please them. It is easy for new moms to feel intimidated by a maternal child health professional who acts like an authoritarian parent instead of a paid professional adviser. Bottom line the people you choose to listen to should make you feel respected and heard. Ultimately, they should help you to feel respected and supported for the choices you make.

Next, it is absolutely important that you feel supported to change your mind.  Why? Well, the main reason is that you don’t know everything yet. You may have a strong opinion about how you would like things to be.  You may have heard other people’s stories and think that your birth will be just like theirs. Your family or friends may have strong opinions about what you should or should not do. But in the end, you will be the final decision maker. Therefore, it is critical that you know and feel supported in the FACT that you can and will change your mind about many different decisions you make on your journey to becoming mom. 

Finally, one of the most important skills you will build during your pregnancy is learning how to find the resources you need to make the many decisions you will be faced with as you become mom. The internet is an amazing resource, but how do you shift through the massive amount of information. How do you find reliable sources? How do you interview a maternal child health care provider and get your questions answered? These are just some of the important skills that you must learn to really own your body, baby and birth. And these are the skills I am committed to helping all First Time Moms to learn. My website is full of FREE “Pro tips” you can use right now, to help you build your skills. Also, I offer a one hour, Power Pregnancy Boot Camp often, just ck my wed-site for more info. However, if you really want to get off to a transformational quick start with your journey to becoming an empowered mom, you can join me for a deep dive week-end where we will actually create your Power Pregnancy Plan. During this 3-day, FUN, and intensive week-end, you will learn among other important skills, just how to find the resources and allies you need to build your Power Pregnancy Plan PPP. You will learn how to own your Body, Baby & Birth. And you will leave with a game plan that you can use to get what you want from your journey to BECOMING MOM. 

At the risk of stating the obvious, your body, relationships, and life are about to change… FOREVER! Becoming a mother is a profound transformation. YOU will be changed. I suggest you work with the amazing power of creation, moving in you, and use this important time to become a smarter, stronger, and more powerful woman. You can find a link in the show note for more info about my transformative week-end workshop, and other resources I offer.

Find Deb @ : [e-mail]   FB https://www.facebook.com/birthkeeper4u  Instagram https://www.instagram.com/debputerbaugh/ 

PLEASE head over to my website and  download my FREE worksheet and video instructions to help you find your absolute “WHY” for BECOMING A MOM here https://birthwiifm.com/ 

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