Birth Advice You Can Trash

Found here.

Pregnancy.

A beautiful time of growth and change.  And also a time when suddenly you, your body, and your every decision are suddenly public property!  (I won't excuse myself either.  If I run into you in the grocery store I reserve the right to tell you what to do.)  Out of the blue your family, strangers, your friends and virtually everybody seems to feel they have the right and the obligation to give you tips and touch your body parts.

I actually think this is all kind of.....magnificent.  Pregnancy and birth are so universal and so joyful- I LOVE that at this time of life the barriers go down and strangers and friends start sharing their experience.

But of course.....

Some of that advice you might rather ignore!  Here are a few commonly shared things that you can go ahead and throw out the window as you prepare to have your new edition.

~  "Don't be a martyr.  Go ahead and get the epidural as soon as possible." ~

Bah!  You don't need no stinkin' epidural!  Going natural is not about being a martyr or comparing stories of pain.  Nor is it about being able to tell your kids down the road how much you suffered to bring them into the world.  (Though- I have totally started doing that even though I love birth.  Being a mom is full of contradictions.)

I didn't feel like a martyr during any of my natural births.  It wasn't always easy but that was what made me feel so powerful when I had done it. 

And of course you shouldn't get the epidural as soon as possible.  For cripes sake- doesn't gravity exist anymore?  Why do people think laying down is a good way to get an eight pound baby out of a vagina?  This doesn't even make sense.

~  "My best friend's, cousin's, brother's wife had a home birth and the baby had it's insides on the outside." ~

Seriously?

Everybody has heard of a bad home birth story.  There ARE bad home birth stories and there are bad home birth midwives and there are also women who do everything right and have to transfer safely at the end of labor.

That doesn't mean YOU shouldn't or can't have a healthy home birth.  It is a big decision.  Approach it with knowledge, with your eyes open, but also with an awareness of your situation and what is best for you. 

~  "It is impossible to have a good birth in a hospital."

In all fairness, there is lots of talk like this.  If you WANT a hospital birth or for some reason NEED one, then don't let people tell you that it is going to be awful.  There are fabulous hospital birth stories too. 

Good and bad births happen in any setting.  If you want or need a hospital birth, check out this link on how to help make it happen. 


~  "It doesn't matter what you eat.  The baby will get what it needs."  

This may be true to some extend and it IS difficult to find good research on the overall pregnancy diet of women and how it impact their pregnancy and birth. 

Still, common sense dictates that if the way you eat can impact your chance of diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and a whole host of various other health problems, it only stands to reason that nutritional intake during pregnancy can impact THAT experience too. 

In addition to that, I personally notice a huge difference in how I feel during pregnancy when I eat well.  Who doesn't want to feel good while pregnant?

Here are some links on eating well while pregnant. 

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I am sure this is only the tip of the iceberg-   What birth advice did you get that was useless or worse?