As expecting moms are set to welcome their new bundle of joy into the world, being prepared can make delivery go more smoothly than you would have otherwise imagined. Below are some tips for ensuring your delivery day is as smooth as can be.
Birth Plan & Patience
It is always good to have discussed a birth plan with your medical team prior to delivery. It’s helpful to have thought about whether or not you will deliver naturally or with the help of pain medication. It is also important to identify who will be in the delivery room with you and who should stay in the waiting area. When outlining your birth plan it is also a good time to consider optional procedures like cord blood banking, since mostdecisions, like cord blood bankingneed to be made well in advance of birth. All of these items should be outlined in your birth plan. The catch, however, is that it is not always possible to follow a birth plan to the letter. Therefore, don't forget to pack your patience on delivery day. Go with the flow and trust that your doctors and others who are caring for you will do the right thing for both you and your new baby.
Pack a Bag
Depending on whether your labor was a surprise or you are induced, you will still need to be prepared up to 3 weeks in advance of your due date, as labor can come at anytime. Go ahead and pack a bag for your hospital stay and be sure to include pajamas, toiletries, any comfort items, along with activities to keep you busy if you are in for a long wait. This bag should be by the door and ready to go at a moment's notice.
Prepare Your Notification List
Childbirth can be stressful, but at the end, you also end up with a great bundle of joy about whom you want to tell the whole world! Therefore, do some pre-work and identify who all should hear the news when your baby arrives. If you are planning to send out an email or text message to those people, be sure you have built your list and have the email addresses or phone numbers ready. Be sure your phone or computer are charged up and ready for some notifying of the happy news!
Water & Vitamins
Just as you have done throughout your pregnancy, do not forget to continue drinking lots of water and taking your pre-natal vitamins. This will help ensure that your baby is as healthy as possible and that your amniotic fluid level is maintained throughout the crucial last few weeks of your incubation period. Be sure to hydrate yourself and keep the baby fed with nutrients.
As you can see, there are many things you can do to help ensure a great experience on delivery day. Following these tips will make sure that you and your family or friends are prepared for one of the most important days of your life. Good luck!
This article was written by Katie Moore. Katie is an active writer within the blogging community who discusses maternity, motherhood, prenatal health, childbirth and other topics within this niche. If you have any questions or would like to connect with Katie please contact by visiting her blog, Moore From Katie or her twitter @moorekm26.
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