If you know me you know I am huge advocate for natural childbirth.  
Having given birth to three healthy kids I thought I’d share my experiences.

It was so hard for me to carry to term.  Due to a hyper auto-immune
system and crazy hormones we’ve suffered seven losses.  Just last year we
had a tiny son born before his time come into the world and leave it
before his first breath.  We were given a 4% chance of ever having a baby, so my children are like precious gifts.

With our first- I wanted to have a home birth, but our family was too terrified, so we went with a hospital and doctor.  We did the Bradley method classes with a wonderful midwife, made a birth plan, and went to a doctor that claimed to understand it all.  Ha.  (I won’t go into details on that one but let’s just say he wasn’t ideal and kept saying to hurry up so he could go duck hunting…)
The ONE good thing he did was let me carry my girl to term. 
“Don’t you want to pick her birthday?”  he asked.  “Everyone is doing it.”

Emily, true to her nature, was stubborn and at 42 weeks still wasn’t going anywhere (despite castor oil and daily long walks.)  So, the doctor induced (which I don’t recommend- Pitocin makes for horrific contractions when you are opting for no pain meds) and twelve hours later a beautiful, healthy, stubborn girl was born.

Second birth- we were going with a midwife/hospital birth but insurance changed and we had to switch to a doctor/hospital birth.  The baby was breech.  Also being stubborn he refused to turn when the doctor (yes, a different and wonderful one) tried to point him in the right direction.   At 40 weeks I went to my acupuncturist to try and get him to turn and while on the table he moved into the “ready” position!  The doctor decided that he wanted to induce at 41 weeks (again, I have to say Pitocin is not fun – I did have a epidural for him which I also don’t recommend because it was scary and didn’t help pain) and 12 hours later Max was welcomed into this world.

Third birth- I wanted the whole natural route with midwife at home.  At 39 weeks I went to the acupuncturist again to start inducing me to prevent another hospital induction.  It worked!  A week later during one of the worst ice storms in ten years I went to bed with a little tummy ache, woke up thinking “Am I in labor?” and then decided I couldn’t be because- a) there was almost no pain,  b)My midwife was in Japan and c) The baby wouldn’t come on Christmas eve, right? But… “honey, call the midwife chain just in case and put on the Hypnobirth CD…”
Sweet baby Jacob was born in the most beautiful, comfortable birth I can imagine.  At home, at 40 weeks.  Healthy and happy.

If you’re pregnant (or thinking of it) please remember that a baby carried to at least 39 weeks has a much better chance of making it without complications. 

What can you do to prevent a pre-term (before 37 weeks) birth?

From my midwife:
“Best way to avoid preterm labor is eat enough protein,
especially deep sea fish all through pregnancy and most importantly
avoid infections of the vaginal canal. Smoking and bad nutrition can
lead to preterm labor also.”

What are my suggestions?
-Get pre-natal care right away.  (Doctor or midwife)
-Eat right
-Ask friends, nurses, midwives, ladies on the playground, who they suggest as an OB
-Make sure to check out the Healthy Families website for wonderful information on pregnancy, early childhood development and more.  You can also order a paper copy if you are someone who likes to have a book to highlight!  🙂  I can remember using this book during my first pregnancy and highlighting every step of the way!

Enter for a chance to win this great basket containing:
– Graco baby bag
– Pampers Swaddlers for newborns
– Winnie the Pooh baby blanket
– Thermometer
– Nipple cream
– Two pacifiers and a clothes clip

HOW DO I ENTER?

1. Leave a comment below and remind me what you did to enter (A must!)
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After seven years of blogging this is actually my first give-away so I’m going to be actually drawing a name the old fashioned way!  Good luck!

*Disclaimer… I am not an expert and don’t claim to be.  I was given this great bag of goodies to give-away by Healthy Families of Arkansas.  None of the opinions expressed above are influenced by anything other than my own experiences.   Winner will be drawn on Friday, 9th of November!