- What do I need to buy?
- What do I need to take to hospital?
- Great websites
- More to come
- What should I ask my midwife?
- More to come
- More to come
What do I need to buy?
As hard as it may to stop yourself buying every cute wee thing you can find, think “Less is More”!
The basics you need are:
- A bed
- Clothes
- Nappies
- Car seat
What do I need to take to hospital?
- Clothes for baby – woolly singlet, woolly cardie, woolly hat
- Nappies if you are not using disposables
- Car seat
- A woollen blanket for baby
- Clothes for you – your maternity clothes will still be the best fit. It can be quite warm, so think ‘summer’ stuff, e.g. t-shirts, summer nightie and dressing gowns, jandals etc
- Toiletries
- Camera and spare batteries or charger
- Phone and charger
- Drink bottle
- Money – change for vending machines
- A roll of the softest loo paper you can find…
- Any labour and birthing items you want to use, e.g. music, your own pillow
Great websites
I do not promote any one product when it comes to teaching antenatal information, but I do suggest checking these websites out for the information they contain:
More to come
What should I ask my midwife?
It can be difficult to know what to ask your potential midwife (LMC) when you first find you are pregnant.
Here are some things for you and your partner/family to ponder at the start:
- What are your own ideas on pregnancy, labour and birth and caring for your baby afterwards?
- Do you want as drug-free a birth as possible, or lots of drugs?
- Where would you like to give birth?
Don’t worry if you only have a vague idea of how you would like to proceed, as there will be plenty of time to learn or fine-tune your thoughts. However, here are some key questions to ask that will give you more options, or help you figure out if you are choosing the right midwife for you:
- What is your philosophy and how do you prefer to practice your profession? e.g. homebirth midwives may not take on a woman who intends on giving birth in hospital.
- Will I only be dealing with you and your back up, or will there be many involved in my care?
- When/how will you be taking breaks or holidays?
- Can I contact you anytime?
- Do you practice using Informed Consent processes?
- Can I give birth anywhere I like, or do you have restrictions on where you would go with me?
- Can I use a birthing pool during labour and/or for birth?
- Over the last year, what percentage of the time have the women in your care been given …………..? (An episiotomy, or pethidine, or an epidural for example – these rates can be skewed by a woman requesting these things, but your LMC’s philosophy above will put it in perspective. Some LMC’s rarely use drugs/interventions, while others use them as a matter of course.)