Week 26: Time to think about creating your birth plan and discussing your preferences with your doctor or midwife.
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Your center of gravity is changing and may be causing backache. If you are standing in one place for a while, place one foot on a step stool to ease backache.
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Now is the time to start discussing labor and birth plans with your care provider. Find out how your doctor or midwife likes to manage the end of pregnancy and labor and birth so there are no surprises.
Pregnancy, Childbirth and the Newborn
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Low backache can be relieved with pelvic rocking on your hands and knees or kneeling over a pile of pillows.
Pregnancy, Childbirth and the Newborn
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The best childbirth classes are usually independent and outside of the hospital. Try looking for independent Lamaze classes at Lamaze International.
Lamaze International
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In the United States, more and more women are trading the traditional baby shower for a more meaningful mother blessing ceremony. These ceremonies celebrate a woman's passage into motherhood. Guests may bring gifts for the baby, but the emphasis is on the encouraging, supporting and inspiring the mother. (Lamaze International)
Blessingway Book
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Exercise during pregnancy can improve your mood, control your blood pressure and prepare your body for the work of labor, birth and early parenthood. Exercise after baby arrives is an important component of mental health as well.
Mayo Clinic
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Thinking about an epidural for labor? Ask your friends and family members what they enjoyed and what they wish had been different about their epidural experiences.
Pregnancy, Childbirth and the Newborn
BirthWatch Recommends:
This is a DVD. Watch this DVD (available for purchase at Amazon.com or at your local library or through Netflix) in your 1st or early 2nd trimester and think about how your prenatal appointments are going. Are you satisfied with your care provider? Are your appointments long enough for you to get answers to all your questions? Do you leave feeling listened to and respected? The Business of Being Born can help you sort out your feelings about what you need in a maternity care provider. If your fit isn't right now, it's not going to improve in the labor and delivery room. Continue to shop around for the care provider that fits you best.