Good preparation
Proper preparation can eliminate a lot of anxiety and uncertainty. It creates calm in your mind and relaxation in your body. But how do you prepare properly? We have listed some useful tips and actions to help you gain more control and confidence in your own abilities during labor. Read more about the process of giving birth, it helps to know what to expect. If for any reason you are dreading labor, please let us know. We will be happy to discuss it with you. We take your fears and concerns seriously, and often we can alleviate some of them with a good talk.
Practical things you already take care of during your pregnancy
There are some practical things you already take care of during your pregnancy. Also, check to see if you have already taken care of all the practical things and preparations during your pregnancy.
To help you think about what is important to you and what is not important to you during childbirth, and to discuss this with your partner, you can make a birth plan. This is not obligatory, but it helps you to think about giving birth.
What to arrange? It is important to start arranging maternity care early in your pregnancy. Even if you have family or acquaintances who want to help you after the birth, we recommend that you arrange maternity care. In the beginning of your pregnancy it is important to apply for maternity care. A kraamverzorgende assists during childbirth, helps you in the first week after delivery with the care of yourself and the baby, and keeps us informed of the medical checks she performs. Always check with your health insurance company to see if the maternity organization in question is affiliated with your insurance. You cannot register with more than one maternity organization. If your chosen maternity care organization is already full in your due date, then look for another organization. If you can’t find one, call your health insurance company.
During your labor and puerperium, you will need a number of medical supplies collected in a maternity package. Depending on your supplementary health insurance package, you can request a maternity package from your insurance company. It is not covered by the basic health insurance. You can also buy a package yourself; the price can vary greatly. The deluxe version may contain many items you don’t need. Leave all the items together in the box, so everything is easy to find during childbirth.
A maternity package includes at least:
- Mattress protector (put under your fitted sheet at the end of pregnancy)
- Maternity mattress
- Coasters
- Bottle of alcohol
- Mesh
- Sterile umbilical clamp or cord ring
- Maternity dressing
- Mesh shorts
Your body is preparing itself for childbirth, you don’t have to do anything for it. Your hormones are changing, and sometimes you may feel discomfort or changes. Your uterus contracts very regularly during pregnancy, but the bigger your belly gets and the closer you get to your due date, the more you will notice this. Your cervix is also preparing and becoming more and more awake and shorter. Sometimes you will notice this by losing mucus or having some pink-red discharge. Your mental preparation for childbirth is just as important. This usually does not happen by itself. Preparing well for your labor can help you to have more confidence in your body, because your own thoughts can increase your anxiety and even inhibit your labor.
- There are several courses and workshops that can help you prepare for childbirth, especially if you are pregnant with your first child. Choose which course suits you best.
- A healthy lifestyle, including exercise in your pregnancy is also important to stay fit and healthy. Walking, biking or swimming more often is certainly allowed and you can continue to do so until the last moment. There are specific exercise classes for during pregnancy, but you can also continue to go to your own gym; if necessary, ask your instructor for a customized program.
Whatever you do, listen carefully to your body and ask one of your midwives for advice when in doubt.
When your labor begins, we will come to your home to do checkups and determine the progress of dilation. If your pregnancy went without complications, you decide where you will give birth; at home or in the hospital. You can decide during your delivery what you like best. For us, any choice is good if it is medically possible.
- It is important to raise your bed from 37 weeks of pregnancy. This is important for the midwife and maternity nurses (Occupational Health and Safety) and is often nicer for yourself getting in and out of bed as well.
- You can raise the lying height of the bed with chocks or alternative aids, such as crates. The lying height of the bed should always be at least 80 cm, even if you do not give birth at home.
- If you don’t like it, it doesn’t have to be your own bed. There may also be a raised single bed in another room in the house.
Even if you want to give birth in the hospital, the midwife always comes to your home first to examine you. If the dilation is sufficient, the midwife will consult with the hospital and we will go to the hospital together. After delivery, the midwife and maternity nurse will do some daily examinations and guide you in feeding (breast-bottle feeding) your baby. A bed at height is also necessary for this.
Our guidance during your delivery
Our care during childbirth is different for everyone! We tailor our care to the situation. You can count on our expertise, involvement and personal attention. We look at what is needed at that moment and where your needs lie. That may be continuous guidance, or maybe you need more rest, information or positive coaching.
- You are given the space to determine what feels best for you, and we encourage you to do what is necessary to make your labor as good and smooth as possible. If you don’t know what you like or need, we will give you advice and tips. You decide what you want.
- During the consultation hours we talked about childbirth at different times. It can be nice to write down for yourself what you like and what your expectations are. This can be done on a scrap of paper or in a birth plan.
A birth plan is a concise document that you can fill out digitally or on paper. The length varies between a few lines to a maximum of two A4s. In a personal birth plan, you are at the center, your wishes and those of your partner are described. It is about expectations, needs and thus the personal care you need. It is a way for you and your partner to discuss each other's expectations of childbirth. It is also a way of letting your midwife and other care providers involved in your birth know what you think is important.
- You are legally entitled to a minimum of 24 hours of maternity care spread over 8 days.
- You are entitled to a maximum of 80 hours of maternity care.
- The standard number of hours of maternity care is 49; in the summer period this is often considerably less.
- The maternity care organization will agree with you how many hours of maternity care you will receive at the first meeting with the maternity care organization.
In consultation with your midwife and the maternity care provider, the number of hours can be extended if necessary, for example, if:
- your recovery is not yet going well
- there are complications
- breastfeeding requires extra attention
- you gave birth to a multiple birth
- you have had a cesarean section