Labour and deliver, though at the beginning part of your pregnancy may seem far off in the future, it will arrive before you know it. Nine months will melt quickly away as you witness the growth of your new child. While women have been giving birth for centuries without medical intervention to the extent that it is available today, those same women knew what to expect while giving birth and they were coached by experienced women while they gave birth. Having a doula present while you are going through labour and delivery can be a wonderful asset to any birth experience. Most places in the United States have doulas available for a price.
Doulas are a nice option, but they do not replace knowledge. The more you know about the whole process of labour and delivery the greater your chance of having the birth experience you are hoping for. You may want to have a “natural childbirth”, in the sense that you think you do not want to have an epidural, or any other types of pain medication. Unless you are very aware of the different phases of labour and delivery and have some pain coping mechanisms already learned you will likely end up with the epidural.
Knowledge empowers you to be in control and to be able to make informed decisions about how your labor and delivery will progress. I highly recommend that you attend a birth preparation class either at the place you are planning to give birth or though an online childbirth class. Most hospitals offer some type of pre birth preparation class. Call yours for details.
While almost every doctor gives you a copy of What to Expect When You Are Expecting, they should give you a copy of the doctor’s Sears Birth Book. The Birth Book covers so much more about labour and delivery. They detail the different phases you will go through, coach on coping methods and talk about writing a birth plan. Half the battle sometimes is going through an exercise in your mind first. If you can visualize what you expect, often you will find that that is what you will get. Just putting down on paper all of the details you expect for your labour and delivery could help you crystallize in your mind who you expect the event to go. You do need to be adaptable though, emergencies do happen. In the end a “natural childbirth” is a birth where you have a child in your arms when all is said and done.