Planning the Big Day!

Posted by Brenda Lane Sep 22, 2006

I have spent the majority of this week working on a series of articles for all the women who read this site. (Thanks to each of you!) One totally cool thing is that I finally have stats of what you all like to read from this site on a daily basis. That will help me better cater my articles to what you are most interested in. Very exciting news!

Anyway, what I have started noticing is that the most popular articles have to do with labor such as Pain Relief Techniques for labor as well as Labor Inductions on the Rise, which also happens to be the number one viewed article so far on this site. Clearly women reading on the internet want more information about labor!

As I meet new couples in my doula practice, the question of pain medication always arises. I think there are several reasons why expectant mothers want to talk about labor and the issue of pain. One is that they want to hear my perspective as a doula and have me confirm that it is possible to have a natural birth.

The other reason is that I believe there is a lot of fear about labor and birth in our culture today. Don't you hear horror stories about labor much more than you hear good stories? If I had not given birth already, I think I would be terrified to do it in 2006 based on what my friends say as well as the way birth is portrayed on cable tv shows.

In response to all of this, I have pulled together some articles that are all listed under the main title Getting Ready for Labor to make them easier for you to find. I know that in 15 years of working alongside expectant families, the most important keys to a satisfying birth experience are to educate yourselves about your options, carefully select your birth team and become involved in all the decisions that are made. Rather than spending months planning the nursery, shouldn't we be spending more time on getting ready for labor and birth?

I would love to hear your feedback about any of these articles. Have a great week and enjoy the coming fall weather. It's gorgeous here in Maryland today :)

Update - results from our poll about how best to prepare for labor is as follows:

• 42% said taking a childbirth class is the best way to prepare
• 14% said reading books
• 14% said reading articles on the internet
• 28% said practicing techniques at home

Brenda

(FYI - my first baby arrived 2 weeks early so the nursery never got the last coat of paint until a year later. She never noticed.)