WHY YOUR BIRTH TEAM NEEDS A DOULA

I am very excited to have my wonderful and very smart cousin, Anna Kemp, guest posting today. My birth experience was relatively uncomplicated one, but there are several things that I wish I could have done differently and that I wanted done differently. There is so much going on in the delivery room that it is hard to think straight, and your spouse probably can't think straight either. You are about to become a mother, he is about to become a father, you are in pain, you are excited, you are overwhelmed.

I wish I had a doula to be the "manager" of my birth experience, and after reading this post by Anna- I think you'll want one, too!

Packing for the Hospital

I did a lot of "Googling" and emailing friends about what to bring to the hospital (and when to pack), when you're on your way to deliver your baby.

Here's the list I put together:

25 Signs You May Be About to Go Into Labor (or Maybe...)

I found this article highly amusing!!!

http://wizzley.com/25-signs-you-may-be-about-to-go-into-labor/

It's so confusing! There is just no way of really knowing until it happens!

Here's an example:

Dilation & Effacement

 This will need to be checked by a doctor or health care worker, but as labor nears, the cervix both thins (effaces) and dilates (opens up).

OR MAYBE... you're just one of those women who dilates weeks before labor begins (some women can dilate up to ten weeks before birth.)