Do you know what you should do to prepare yourself for labour and delivery yet? Here is a helpful checklist to get yourself ready.
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Take care of yourself
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Light exercise (stretch, take walks, continue your kegel exercises).
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Pampering (get your haircut, bikini wax).
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Take a birthing class.
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Read up on labour and delivery scenarios and procedures.
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Preparing a birth plan
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Who would you like to have in the delivery room with you?
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What kind of birth environment do you want?
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Do you want to document the birth (photography/video)?
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What kind of pain relief do you want?
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How would you want to give birth?
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Do you want your partner present if you have a caesarean section?
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How do you plan on feeding your baby?
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Do you want your baby circumcised?
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At home
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Make sure the nursery is ready.
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Buy a month’s worth of supplies for your newborn.
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Pack your delivery bag.
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Cook extra meals and freeze for later; gather delivery menus.
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Pay your bills (rent/cell phone/cre dit card) in advance.
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If you have other kids, arrange for babysitters/relatives to care for them and provide instructions.
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Fill up your car’s petrol tank.
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Know the signs of when you should go to the hospital (ask your doctor).
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Come up with plans for different scenarios: if the husband is at work when you go into labour, if it happens in the middle of the night, etc.
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Prepare a list of numbers to call for when it happens.
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At the hospital
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Take a tour of the hospital and check out delivery room, maternity ward, nurse’s station, lactation clinic, administrative area for processing and payment.
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Preregister at the hospital if possible
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Ask about hospital policies:
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What items they provide (like diapers, maternity pads, toiletry kit)?
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What you can and cannot bring (like food warmers, music players)?
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Who can be in the delivery room with you?
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How long can you stay postpartum?
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Screening tests they give to the newborn?
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How to know that you’re in labour?
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Stronger, more frequent contractions (ask your gynaecologist how far apart they should be before you head for the hospital)
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Thick vaginal discharge; your water breaks
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Strong back pain
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Pressure on your pelvis
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Diarrhoea
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* When in doubt, call your doctor. If it happens at odd hours, proceed to the hospital. You might get sent home, but it’s best to be safe.
