Childbirth Education on the Web

These articles contain similar information to what is taught in early pregnancy classes, childbirth preparation series, breastfeeding and newborn care classes. However, they are not meant as a substitute for childbirth education classes. I strongly encourage all pregnant women, and their partners, to take classes together to prepare for labor and birth.

Disclaimer: I am not a licensed health care practitioner, and nothing in here is intended as medical advice for your particular situation. I urge you to contact your own caregiver for questions related to your pregnancy, labor, and birth.

Pregnancy

· How to Choose: A Caregiver, A Place to Give Birth, A Childbirth Education Class. Questions to Ask Your Care Providers.

· Taking Care of Yourself and Baby: Nutrition. Substances to Avoid. Exercise. Prenatal Testing. Warning signs. Common Discomforts During Pregnancy.

· Preparing for Birth: A Breathing Technique for Labor and for Life. How Accurate is your Due Date? Induction: A Medical Procedure to Start Labor

Labor and Birth

· Stages: Onset of Labor, Early Labor, Active Labor, Transition, Second Stage, Third Stage

· Hospital Procedures, Fetal Monitoring

· Variations in Labor: Preterm, Post-date, Induction, Precipitous and Prolonged

· Interventions in Second Stage: Episiotomy, Vacuum, Forceps,

· Cesarean Birth, Increasing your Chances of a Vaginal Birth, How to have the Best Possible Cesarean

Coping with Pain in Labor

· Understanding Pain in Labor

· Comfort Techniques / Pain-Coping Practices: Labor Support, Breathing Techniques, Relaxation, Positions, Learning about your own coping styles, Comfort in Second Stage

· Pain Medications for Labor: Epidural Anesthesia, Epidural: minimizing the risks, maximizing benefits

· The “Cliff Notes”: a basic overview of labor. This is a PDF file. To read, use Adobe Acrobat Reader, available to download free.

Postpartum: Self Care

· Postpartum Recovery, Warning Signs

· Self-Care: Taking care of your needs too.

· Support and Sanity Savers (PDF): Plan now to get the support you need to help care for your baby, your self, and your relationship.

· Relationship tools (PDF): Appreciation, Conflict Resolution, Love Languages, Finding Time and Space for your Relationship

Baby Care

· Breastfeeding Home Page: Lots of info!

· Newborn Care Basics: Crying and Calming, Carrying your Baby, Sleeping ‘like a baby’

· Newborn Health: Newborn Procedures, Newborn Warning Signs, SIDS: Sudden Infant Death Syndrome

· Baby Care Plan (PDF). Like a birth plan, it’s a tool for helping you think about reality of life with baby, and start planning for what you would like that to be like: planning for support, sharing responsibilities, and so on.

More Education Resources for Expectant Parents

· Videos about Pregnancy, Birth, Babies, and Breastfeeding. A list of videos that are available from the King County library. If you’re anywhere else in the U.S., you can use these titles and call numbers to search at your local library.

· There are additional articles which, although mostly aimed at childbirth professionals, may also be interesting reading. Look on the childbirth educator page, under “Information Resources for Childbirth Educators.”

The Quick and Dirty Overview

If you’re really just wanting the quick summary of info on late pregnancy, labor, birth, and newborn care, check out “Doula’s Guide to Labor and Birth” - Parent Education in 8 pages. To read online: HTM. To print, use Word. PDF.

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