Ask THESE Essential Questions for Pregnancy
Are you overwhelmed with what to ask your provider, midwife, or hospital regarding what you want for your birth experience? Well, listen in! I walk you through what questions to ask, give background information behind those questions, and encourage you to educate and empower yourself to stand up for the birth you want. 🤱🏼
Show Notes:
[1:11] Lulu2394, our reviewer of the week, says, “THE best podcast for birth preparation! I highly recommend this podcast to anyone expecting, and I highly recommend the course as well.” She felt empowered by the podcast and birth course to switch her provider at 32 weeks, and she was able to have the home birth she wanted. Her midwife and doula were impressed with the information she knew and how prepared she was for birth. All thanks to my Essential Birth! 💜
We love hearing stories about how the podcast empowers our listeners to make such important decisions for their birth experience. We promise the My Essential Birth Course will help prepare you for birth and you will not be disappointed! 🎉
SIDE NOTE: To get the most out of this podcast episode, I’d like to encourage you to pause this episode and go download the free lists of questions to ask your provider, midwife, and hospital so you can easily follow along while we go through these questions! They are also available in the links below!
[2:18] I tackle a question we received from our Instagram DM’s! 💬 “Can you do an episode on questions to ask from beginning to end starting with how to find a provider?” Be sure to check out our free downloads for questions to ask your provider and midwife! I’m going to go through these questions, add a few questions, and also give some background behind the questions. So be sure to take notes and save this episode to refer to later! 📝
[3:36] What will give you the best base for the birth you want? Your preparation + your provider! So before we dive into the questions to ask your provider, let me start by asking . . . what do YOU want? 🤔
[4:18] I talk about the importance of knowing what the questions you’re asking mean and how that ties in with what you want. I’m going to challenge you to think about WHY you want a certain item on your birth map and how can you pivot when things don’t go according to “plan.” 🗺 I want to you have a Plan B and C (and be educated about what those other options are!) in case XYZ doesn’t happen for you! 🤓
[6:17] Keep this in mind! Before you start asking your family, friends, local pregnant mamas, etc. for a provider they recommend, ask yourself if their lifestyle, risks, birth experiences, background, and values align with what you want your birth experience to be like. You should be interviewing several providers. Doulas can also provide excellent recommendations and insights for local providers. 💯
[10:43] ⚠️ I’m going to tell you what NOT to do when looking for a provider. ⚠️
[12:02] By looking over the lists of questions I've linked below for you, I hope it will help engage your mind and help other questions start to flow! 🤩 What is our goal with having a list of questions that you can ask your provider? By understanding what is important to your birth experience, it will create a better flow to the conversation instead of coming in as a hard interview by just reading off your questions. 👥
[14:10] Let’s get down to it. What questions do I ask my midwife when I’m starting to look for one? I talk through the questions to ask a midwife. 💕 I hope that these questions help you think of even more questions that are important to you when interviewing a midwife.
[20:23] Next, we’ll talk about questions to ask obstetricians. I have one question that I LOVE to ask the OB and think is super important to the birth experience. I also talk about questions to ask about having a gentle Cesarean birth. We also have a download and plan linked below for you to utilize if a Cesarean becomes necessary. 🤰🏼
[31:00] Walk yourself through the entire process of labor and delivery. This will help you decide what you want on your birth map and what’s important to you! 💭 I help you walk through the process of visualizing your birth and what happens when things change. How you choose to give birth does not have to be the same as anyone else. How 👏🏻 you 👏🏻 feel 👏🏻 during birth is what will stand out to you the most.
[34:01] Keep in mind that I could never list every single question you could ask your provider or midwife because birth is individual to each person! These questions are a jumping off point for you. 🗒
[34:53] Another important factor to talk about with your provider is your hospital setting (if this applies to you). If you are having a hospital birth, the nurses are the ones who will be taking care of you, not necessarily your provider. I have also linked the download for questions to ask on your hospital tour. 🏥
[41:32] I give you a few more questions to ask at the hospital. By making sure your provider is on board with your birth plan, it’ll make it easier when you get to the hospital and sticking to your birth plan because you have “back-up.” 😉
[42:43] My whole goal for this podcast episode is for you to be knowledgeable and educated about what options are available so when you’re having the conversation with the provider, it won’t be just them telling you how it will be. 😒
[43:38] You’ll find all the links below in the Show Notes. The links are also available on Apple Podcasts when you click the episode description. 🎙
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Links Mentioned:
