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Big Decisions
What Birth Methods Are Right for You?
By Harmony Cornwell
The decisions you make as a parent are endless. Even before your baby is born you have to choose a name, a stroller, a crib and pick out a nursery theme, and then purchase and assemble it all. And what about one of the biggest decisions you have to make – where and how you want your baby born.
"Don't wait until the last few weeks of pregnancy to discuss [your birth plan] with your care provider," says Michelle Collins, a certified nurse-midwife and faculty member in the Nurse-Midwifery Program at Vanderbilt University. "A birth plan lets everyone involved ... know what [your] desires are and helps to make it the experience [you] are looking for."
Here is information to help you decide where you want your baby born (at home, a birth center or in the hospital), who your care provider will be (a midwife, a family practitioner or an obstetrician) and choices such as pain management and alternative birth methods. A complete birth plan will include many more details – from your musical preferences in the room to who will cut the umbilical cord – but this will help with the big decisions.
You may consider a home birth if you like the idea of the flexibility and comfort you will derive from familiar surroundings during your labor. In addition, it is a method that will ensure the least amount of interventions, allowing you to have a natural childbirth.
"When [I] got pregnant with our third child I knew I didn't want any medications and as few interventions as possible," says Jennifer Bray, a mom of three from Spokane Valley, Wash. "I also wanted to avoid the drive to the hospital."
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