Questions to ask potential Care Providers
This is a nice list to start with (you can add and subtract and edit questions depending on your situation).
Here’s a helpful discussion of red flags to look out for in an out-of-hospital midwife.
And here is a helpful list of red flags to look out for if you have an in-hospital care provider.
If you’re interested in delving more into the research on out-of-hospital birth, you might want to check out these studies:
Pregnancy Week-by-week Guides
The Spinning Babies week-by-week guide has great tips for stretches, exercises, posture, etc. during pregnancy as well as a brief update on the baby’s development. Two drawbacks are that the number of exercises they recommend can be quite overwhelming and there are one or two off-hand remarks about pregnancy nausea that aren’t very sensitive to those struggling with it. So read this guide with a grain of salt! Pick and choose exercises. Don’t try to do everything!
Babycenter’s week-by-week guide has more information than Spinning Babies about how your baby is developing and what’s going on in your body. It also has beautiful images.
Minimizing Pregnancy Nausea
A few thoughts to keep in mind if you’re struggling with the discouragement of pregnancy nausea:
- “There might be things I have not yet tried that could help me feel better.” One of my friends got a tip from her midwife that helped her “800% better”. You never know when you’ll discover that tip.
- “This won’t last forever: at some point, it will be over.” Many women start to feel better by weeks 14-16. Some even start feeling better before that. And even if 14-16 weeks feels a long way away, or you think you might be one of the small percentages of women that feel sick all the way through pregnancy, remind yourself that no matter what, one day it will be completely over. Also, a lot of women have a pattern with a certain time of day when they typically feel better. If that’s you, whenever you feel discouraged, remind yourself that you’ll feel better in the morning or in the evening or after the next time you throw up or whatever time you typically feel best.
- Hold your friends’ babies as often as you can. This may do wonders for your morale.
That being said, here’s a fantastic list of things to try.
Optimal Fetal Position/Feeling More Comfortable During Pregnancy
Spinning Babies recommends Blooma Yoga which has a lot of great free videos on their YouTube channel. Here are two of my favorites:
- The A.M. prenatal routine (part 1 and part 2) lasts 40 minutes and is a nice combination of opening, relaxing, stretching, and working muscles.
- This 15-minute prenatal routine is less of a workout but still feels great.
Spinning Babies has three main exercises called “The Three Sisters of Balance”. Make sure to note how often they are recommended and read through when it is NOT a good idea to use these exercises before you try them:
- The jiggle OR rebozo sifting with a partner.
- The forward-leaning inversion.
- The side-lying release with a partner.
Spinning Babies’ tips for resting smart.
Spinning Babies’ daily activities.
Spinning Babies’ weekly activities.
Prenatal Bellydance lesson. Note: be gentle with your hips while pregnant – your joints are more limber so it’s easier to overdo it. You’ll know you have overdone it if your hips feel uncomfortably sore a few hours later or the next day.
Another fun Bellydance lesson (not prenatal, but prenatal friendly). See the note above about how and why to be gentle with hip movements while pregnant.
Nutrition during Pregnancy
Ask your care provider for coaching in nutrition. In the meantime, Spinning Babies has some pregnancy nutrition tips.
Preparing for Labor/Useful Info on just about Everything
Built to Birth Youtube Channel
Birthing Instincts Podcasts (note: they usually begin talking about the episode topic about 30 minutes into the podcast)
Comfort/Coping During Labor
Video about breathing during labor.
Video with practice exercises to breathe and relax while feeling discomfort
Free video course on hypnobirthing.
Hypno-birthing replacement terms.
Book: Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way: Revised Edition by Susan McCutcheon
Book: The Birth Partner 5th Edition: A Complete Guide to Childbirth for Dads, Partners, Doulas, and Other Labor Companions by Penny Simkin (Note: this book, especially the part that walks you through how you might feel during each phase of labor, is also helpful for expectant moms to read!)
Anxiety About Birth and/or Processing Emotions from a Previous Birth
Book: Birthing from Within: An Extra-Ordinary Guide to Childbirth Preparation by Pam England
Four Sermons on the Unique Calling, Curse & Victory of Women:
1. Saved in Childbearing: Faith
2. Saved in Childbearing: Love
3. Saved in Childbearing: Holiness
4. Saved in Childbearing: Self-control
Book: Healing from a Homebirth Cesarean: A companion workbook for any mother whose planned out-of-hospital birth ended in the operating room by Courtney Key Jarecki (This book is useful for anyone who has had a Cesarean, even if you originally planned to have your baby in the hospital!)
Postpartum
Learn what different cries mean
No Bake Oatmeal Energy Ball Recipe
Book: Becoming a Calm Mom: How to Manage Stress and Enjoy the First Year of Motherhood by Deborah Roth Ledley
Book: The First Forty Days: The Essential Art of Nourishing the New Mother by Heng Ou
Five Lectures on Ecclesiastes:
3. Time
Breastfeeding
Laidback/Natural Breastfeeding
Jack Newman’s visual guide to breastfeeding on YouTube.
More Jack Newman Videos on Specific Breastfeeding Issues
Mama Natural’s article How to Find a Lactation Consultant (and Why You’d Want To)
Miscarriage/Stillbirth/Infant Loss
Book: Holding On to Hope: A Pathway through Suffering to the Heart of God by Nancy Guthrie
A sermon on David’s confidence that his child who died on the seventh day was with the Lord.
A sermon on covenant children in the Scripture.