My Labor and Delivery Advice

(For all the moms out there about to have a baby or any who know someone who will.)

The biggest advice I have is, Don't let them break your water. They broke my water with my second baby and I think that's what caused the umbilical cord to get wrapped around her neck three times. It probably forced her to come out faster than she was ready to. Others have had more complications with this too.

Don't let them give you pictocin to speed up your labor or induce you. Google all the side effects of pictocin. They will tell you it's a naturally occurring chemical in your body and it's safe, but actually it can really mess up your liver and your digestive system. So take caution on that.

Don't let the doctor cut you. This actually can increase your risk of having a bigger tear which can even lead to you being incontinent. They like to do it to get the baby out faster but you will regret it for the next year or more if you let them cut you, because any sitting at all will prob be painful.

Don't go to hospital until you are pretty dilated. When you get there they literally put their entire arm up inside you to check how dilated you are. This is actually the most painful part, even worse than the delivery. Only go after you think you are pretty open or else this hurts really badly.

Focus on pushing instead of screaming when your baby is coming out. Screaming seems to help in that time but pushing is better of course. And take deep breaths so you don't pass out.

Put a cool washcloth on your head. This will help a lot to help you not feel super hot the whole time.
When you get contractions, ask your husband or mom to massage your back. This helps relieve the muscle tension a lot.

Have your spouse or mom lay their full upper body on your legs when you get a contraction. I'm serious 😃 This will keep your legs from getting shaky and incredibly in pain.

Tell the nurse to wrap the tape on your IV all the way around your arm so the IV doesn't pop out in labor. If it does you then get dehydrated and you might faint.

Make SURE you do everything the nurses tell you to clean and disinfect that area after labor. If you don't this might also make sitting painful for months to come.

And finally, enjoy your new baby! That time when they let you sit and hold them is oh so short, so treasure it!

And God bless and congrats new mom! We are all so proud of you for sacrificing your body and comfort to bring a new life into the world! May God bless you and your new baby tremendously and Good Job hanging in there.