Labor of Love: 5 Tips for Staying Calm when Your Baby is On the Way

 

When it comes to labor and delivery, the thought of remaining calm may seem impossible. You’ve waited for this day for at least 40 weeks and between the excitement of finally meeting your child and the fear of pain during childbirth, staying collected seems to be the last response possible in this situation. Yet remaining calm will help your labor and delivery progress more smoothly and allow doctors and nurses to better attend to your needs. Keep reading for a few tips to help you stay calm when your baby is on the way:

 

Take a Warm Bath or Shower

If your labor pains begin at home, your first impulse will be to rush into the hospital. If possible, you should take this time to finish packing and take a soothing bath or shower before leaving. Please note—baths are not considered safe if your water broke, due to the potential of infection. Also pregnant women may lack balance so ask your partner to help you enter and exit the bathtub.

If you do choose to head straight into the hospital, ask your nurse if you can use the shower before your labor intensifies. Water is extremely soothing during labor and can actually help decrease the pain of contractions.

 

Listen to your Favorite Music

Whether you’re at home timing your contractions or in your hospital room, listening to your favorite songs will help you remain calm throughout the labor and delivery process. Put this chore on your to-do list beforehand and have a great song list ready to go for this special day.

 

Walk, Walk, Walk

This is another activity you can do at home or in the hospital (depending upon your nursing staff.) Walking is an excellent way to calm frazzled nerves and it also helps shift baby lower into the birthing canal. Exercise is a natural way to lower stress levels and this low impact activity is ideal.

 

Try Patterned Breathing

Whether you learned a breathing technique in Lamaze class or through your midwife or doctor, patterned breathing is noted for its ability to help women relax, and stay calm during intense labor and deliveries. Another perk to patterned breathing is increased oxygen flow to both you and your unborn child.

 

Medications

You may not think of pain medications as being calming, but the fact remains often it’s the fear of pain as well as the actual pain itself that causes intense emotions during the labor and delivery process. While you should already have an open line of communication with your doctor in regard to pain medication beforehand, during the birth process remain open and honest with the nursing staff in regard to your needs. A Zofran birth injury lawyer suggests that you make arrangements for any medications before the actual delivery day so that you are fully aware of any side effects or risks. There are multiple options in regard to pain management and even if you ask for medicine to take the edge off labor pains, this may help you regain your calm and endure the rest of the delivery.

 

The day your baby is born is both exciting and a little bit scary due to the unknowns. Remaining collected as you face labor and delivery is best for both you and your unborn child. Try some of the above techniques during the birthing process and allow them to help you remain calm as you deliver your baby into the world.

 

Categories: Baby, delivery, labor, pregnancy

Labor and Delivery: What Your Doctor Should Be Doing

Bringing a baby into the world requires specialized medical care. Women who are in labor need to be able to rely on their doctors to monitor them and detect potential problems with their babies. According to Bottar Leone Attorneys, less than once percent of babies in the United States are injured during birth, but statistics don’t matter much when it is your child that is hurt. While many doctors entrust monitoring laboring patients to the nursing staff, doctors should still be expected to be on hand in case of an emergency. As women prepare to give birth, they are encouraged to be aware of their doctors’ expected obligations to them and their newborn infants.

• Be Aware of a Laboring Mother’s Condition

Some women’s labors drag on for hours. Even if their labors last for more than a day, their physicians are still expected to be informed of their patients’ progress and be ready to act in case of an emergency. In fact, a woman who is experiencing a lengthy labor might need her doctor to intervene and be ready to perform a cesarean section if necessary. A doctor who is not on hand or ready to act could result in the injury or death of the mother, the infant, or both.

 

• Using Birth Instruments Correctly

When a woman is not able to push her baby out safely, she should expect her doctor to be able to use the necessary birthing instruments correctly. Many physicians use vacuums or forceps to help birth large babies who cannot pass through the birth canal easily. The use of these instruments should not be left to the nursing staff. Because of the possibility of injury to the mother or baby, only a doctor should use those instruments. A mother who is injured or has an infant who is injured because of the incorrect use of a vacuum or pair of forceps may have legal grounds to sue her doctor.

 

• Supervising Labor and Delivery Staff

Most hospitals require that L&D nurses deliver at least one infant a year in order to retain their licenses for this medical specialty. When a nurse is called upon to deliver a baby, he or she should be supervised by an attending physician. While many nurses are exceedingly competent in delivering low-risk babies, other deliveries could result in the death or injury of mother or child if the nurses are not properly supervised. For the safety of both patients, a mother should expect the nurse delivering her child to be watched over by a competent obstetrician.

 

•   Acting Promptly to Fight Infections

Pregnant women undergo Group B strep testing in the sixth or seventh month of their pregnancies. Even so, this infectious agent or other diseases that could infect the baby and jeopardize the health of the mom and infant can be overlooked during routine testing. Even if all of her tests have come up negative, a woman still has reason to expect her doctor to recognize the signs of infection and be ready to administer antibiotics quickly. If she is running a fever, lethargic, or showing other signs of infection, a mother needs to rely on her obstetrician to act promptly and save her life and that of her child.

 

Giving birth is not necessarily the risk-free event as some people dismiss it. Women are encouraged to safeguard themselves and their infants by knowing what obligations their doctor has to them during their labors and deliveries.

 

Using the same health care professionals for each of her deliveries helped Melanie Fleury to trust in the process of childbirth of each of her kids. She also found that keeping an open line of communication and knowing what to expect from her doctors and midwife also helped to alleviate fear and worry. Bottar Leone Attorneys want parents to know that if a child is injured during birth, it can lead to significant time and financial commitment. A lawyer can help you determine if you have a case and should be compensated.

Categories: Birth Instruments, delivery, labor