How is the Labor & Delivery Guide going to help you?

If you're a pregnant mama preparing for a hospital birth, this guide will be the reassurance that you need to get you from "what in the world am I getting myself into?" to "I'm ready for this baby to come". 

Whether You're...

• A first time mama nervous about your first labor and birth experience and ready to learn what there is to know about the mysterious Labor & Delivery experience that will soon be your reality. 

• A second or more time mama who's ready to finally feel prepared heading into labor and delivery instead of like you're in a fog the entire time. 
• A mama with some of fear around birth who understands that knowledge is power and the only way to work through those fears is to understand them. 

...You're in the right place and The Labor and Delivery Guide is exactly what you need.  

With This Guide,

you will…

• Have a resource for how to handle your final appointments. With checklists and questions for your provider, chapter one will prepare you for your appointments leading up to labor. 

• Learn how to prepare for labor and delivery during your pregnancy  and in chapter 2 you'll figure out how important it is to acknowledge the five Ps of labor and delivery. 
• Understand when to head to the hospital and how you'll know that it's really time vs. a false alarm. (and how you'll know when it's a good idea to get seen in labor and delivery even when you're not quite having contractions)
• Understand the Triage and Admission process when you check into labor and delivery including how you can advocate for yourself during this time. 
• Get a full picture of all of the stages and phases of labor and learn what to expect and what you will experience in each of them. 
• Have a better understanding of The Golden Hour, what it is, why. it's important, and what will be happening to you and your baby during this time. 
• Be able to involve your support person and give them the education and support they'll need to be there for you in the best way possible. 
• Feel more comfortable with your knowledge of inductions and augmentation and the methods that are often used to do so. 
• Know what to expect if you're faced with an unexpected C-Section and  why that might happen. 
• Finally be out of the dark when it comes to the possible complications that may arise in labor and delivery and what to expect when they become you're reality. 
• Be able to conquer your fears around labor and birth and work through them strategically with a realistic idea of what labor and delivery really is. 
• Begin getting prepared for postpartum, starting with those very first moments after the baby is born and including that nerve-wracking moments of being sent home to do it all yourself. 

Grab Your Copy Of The Labor & Delivery Guide Today

What’s Inside The Labor & Delivery Guide

Chapter 1

Final Appointments

In order to fully prepare for labor and delivery, it's important to start the process during pregnancy. In this chapter I'll give you tips to how to best take advantage of your final appointments with your provider before you go into labor. 

Chapter Highlights:

• A checklist now hat to complete before your final appointment
• A checklist that sorts through what's happening (and what should happen) during your final appointments
• Questions to ask your provider
• A discussion about Cervical exams prior to labor
• ...more

Chapter 2

Preparing For Birth

Birth prep isn't just about knowing what labor is going to be like. It's about preparing yourself, your body, and your mind for how to handle, manage, and advocate for it.  

Chapter Highlights:

• Hospital bag checklist
• The Five P's of labor and delivery 
• How to best support your baby during labor and delivery
• What you need to know about your (and your baby's) position during birth
• What you can do to prepare your pelvis for birth
• How you you can encourage your body to progress effectively and naturally through labor 
• ...more

Chapter 3

When To Go To The Hospital

One of the most nerve wracking parts of labor and delivery is simply knowing when "it's time". It can be confusing and intimidating trying to figure out when it's the real deal vs. a false alarm.  

Chapter Highlights:

• How to know that you're in labor
• The difference between true and "false" labor 
• The 411 Rule
• The benefits of laboring at home for as long as you can
• What you need to know about when your water breaks
• Other reasons why you might get admitted to labor and delivery
• ...more

Chapter 4

Triage & Admission

It's one thing to prepare yourself for birth in the comfort of your home. But when you step into a foreign place like labor and delivery, you might become frazzled and have a hard time remembering your plan, advocating for yourself, or keeping yourself calm. In this chapter, we'll go over how you can prepare for the transition from home to hospital. 

Chapter Highlights:

• Your Birth Plan and how to use it in labor & delivery
• The Triage process and what to expect
• What it will be like when you finally get admitted to labor and delivery 
• Advocating for yourself in a hospital setting 
• An overview of hospital policies 
• Common interventions in labor and delivery
• ...more 

Chapter 5

Stages of Labor

One of the most important parts of labor and delivery preparation is understanding what labor really is. Knowledge is power! If you can wrap your mind around what will be happening to you in each stage and phase of labor, what to expect, and what it really looks like when you're in it, your fear will be minimized and your confidence will skyrocket!

Chapter Highlights:

• An overview of each of the three phases and four stages of labor and what to expect from each. 
• Cervical exams and what they mean in labor. 
• Laboring down
• Pushing: how to do it and when 
• The Golden hour
• Newborn care immediately after birth
• Preparing your support person for labor and delivery
• ...more

Chapter 6

Induction & Augmentation

You may be faced with talk of an induction in the final weeks of pregnancy or even just moments before you're admitted to labor and delivery. There are a multitude of reasons why your provider might suggest an induction or augmentation methods during your labor. It's important that you understand what that looks like for you and what to expect.  

Chapter Highlights:

• The difference between Inductions and Augmentations
• Induction and augmentation methods used in labor and delivery
• ...more

Chapter 7

C-Sections

It's uncomfortable to think about having a C-Section when you're planning for an uncomplicated vaginal birth. But it never hurts to be educated about the possibilities  so that if and when you face having an operation in order to get your baby out safely, you'll be prepared and emotionally equipped to handle that change in plan.   

Chapter Highlights:

• Indictions for a C-Section and when you might choose one. 
• The difference between scheduled, non-urgent, urgent, and emergent Cesarean Sections.
• Why an unexpected Cesarean Section might happen.
• ...more

Chapter 8

Complications

Labor and Delivery is nothing to fear. Pregnancy and birth is most often a trustworthy process. But occasionally things come up during or shortly before labor that make things complicated. 

Not all complications should cause fear or panic. Some are simple and easily managed. Others, on the other hand, can lead to emergent situations. It's important you understand the difference. 

Chapter Highlights:

• Preterm labor
• GBS positive
• Preeclampsia
• Meconium 
• Fetal distress
• Placental Abruption
• Chorioamnionitis
• Umbilical Cord Prolapse
• Nuchal Cord (cord wrapped around the neck)
• Shoulder dystocia
• Postpartum Hemorrhage
• NICU admission
• Vaginal Tears
• ...more

Chapter 9

Fears

Fear is the enemy of an empowered birth. We all have fears in some form or another but it's important to understand them, work through them, and set them straight in your mind to give yourself the opportunity to have the birth you desire without getting in your own way.

Chapter Highlights:  

• Working through your fears work pages 
• Common labor and delivery fears and their explainations

Chapter 10

Postpartum

One of the biggest mistakes mamas often make in their birth preparation is overlooking the postpartum period, the preparation you can do, and the recovery that you'll want to learn about before you're in it. 

Chapter Highlights:  

• The recovery process after birth 
• Postpartum in the hospital
• Breastfeeding in the hospital
• Going home from the hospital

Grab Your Copy Of The Labor & Delivery Guide Today