Holiday Due Date Pressures
By: Emily Bergeron
The holidays are fast approaching, and everyone is making plans. Celebrations, family get-togethers, dinner parties, travel plans, and out-of-town guests. But if your due date falls near one of those holidays, you may be feeling a bit of added stress. How can you make plans when you have no idea when the baby will come? You might still be pregnant, you could go into labor that day, or you could be caring for a newborn and recovering from giving birth! On top of that, your care provider may also be wondering how he’ll make it to all of his holiday engagements if he’s waiting on a handful of babies to be born. All of this adds up to a lot of pressure on you, and even though research shows that there are increased risks to elective inductions and cesareans, care providers and family members may be encouraging you to schedule your baby’s arrival for their convenience.
By: Emily Bergeron
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| All good things come to those who wait! Don't let the holiday pressures get to you. The best present you can give your baby this season is letting them pick their own birthday! |
The holidays are fast approaching, and everyone is making plans. Celebrations, family get-togethers, dinner parties, travel plans, and out-of-town guests. But if your due date falls near one of those holidays, you may be feeling a bit of added stress. How can you make plans when you have no idea when the baby will come? You might still be pregnant, you could go into labor that day, or you could be caring for a newborn and recovering from giving birth! On top of that, your care provider may also be wondering how he’ll make it to all of his holiday engagements if he’s waiting on a handful of babies to be born. All of this adds up to a lot of pressure on you, and even though research shows that there are increased risks to elective inductions and cesareans, care providers and family members may be encouraging you to schedule your baby’s arrival for their convenience.
So, what can you do to make the holidays as stress free as
possible while still making the best choices for your baby?
Care Providers
Sometimes doctors will come right out and offer to schedule
an induction because of an upcoming holiday, or mention the fact that they are
going on vacation and suggest an induction so you can deliver with them before
they leave. Other times they may not be so straight forward. Here are some
questions you can ask to help you make decisions about suggested interventions:
- What are the benefits of this procedure/intervention? How is this going to help keep you and/or baby healthy?
- What are
the risks of intervening? All interventions applied to birth carry some
type of risk. Many of these risks are minor when considered alone, but each
intervention has the potential to kickstart a snowball effect of events that
lead to much greater risks. These risks can affect not only you and your baby,
but can also greatly impact your future births as well!
Check out this short video to better understand the The Snowball Effect
- What are the alternatives? There are frequently natural alternatives to medical interventions for a non-complicated pregnancy. To find them, you may need to seek out the advice of local doulas, childbirth educators, chiropractors or Licensed Midwives.
- What does your intuition tell you? A mother’s intuition is often right on the money. Trust your gut. Does the information you have make sense? Following your intuition might mean you need to seek out more information before making a decision.
- What happens if we do nothing? Are you or baby in any danger if you do nothing (allowing your body to lead the way)? Is there any reason to make a decision immediately? If not, make a plan with your provider on how you will follow up.
Before making any decisions, look into the risk and
benefits! Lamaze International has made an easy to understanding,
evidenced-based guide to help you make healthy choices for your birth. You can
check out these 6 Healthy Birth Practices here .
Family and Friends
As much as everyone wants you to be at their celebrations,
or wants to be around to experience the birth of your baby, they (and you) will
just have to accept that there is always a certain amount of uncertainty that
comes with childbirth. Here are some ideas that may help:
- Thank them for their excitement and do your best to accommodate people’s plans, but stress the fact that you can make no firm commitments and have to make choices based on what’s best for baby.
- Have family and friends come to visit you instead of making travel plans close to your due date.
- Have a back-up plan for guests in case you go into
labor while they are visiting.
- Make alternative plans in case you have to miss
an event because of your birth (the nerve of that baby, interrupting your
Thanksgiving dinner!)
- Make sure you have support for your decisions. When excited and well-meaning family and friends are pressuring you to do what they want, and you’re exhausted and uncomfortable, it can be difficult to keep your priorities in mind. Having a doula and/or other supportive people around you who can remind you of why you made the decisions you made, and possibly act as a buffer to the not-so-helpful suggestions can make all the difference in the world!
Remember, your due date is not an expiration date, a holiday
is not a medical reason for induction, and babies do best (and birth works best) when they are allowed
to come when they are ready!
Emily Bergeron has been a practicing doula since 2008 and is a MotherBirth Founder. She graduated from UL in 2003 with a degree in Psychology and worked at a variety of social service agencies before becoming a doula. She lives in Iota with her husband and three children. She serves as a doula, Professional Placenta Encapsulationist and childbirth educator in the Lafayette and Lake Charles areas. She believes that doula support is an integral part of having a positive birth experience.
Emily will be teaching our FREE Comfort Measures Class December 5, 1:30-4:30pm at the Lafayette Public Library. If you would like to attend, please click here to RSVP and reserve your spot!
Emily Bergeron has been a practicing doula since 2008 and is a MotherBirth Founder. She graduated from UL in 2003 with a degree in Psychology and worked at a variety of social service agencies before becoming a doula. She lives in Iota with her husband and three children. She serves as a doula, Professional Placenta Encapsulationist and childbirth educator in the Lafayette and Lake Charles areas. She believes that doula support is an integral part of having a positive birth experience.
Emily will be teaching our FREE Comfort Measures Class December 5, 1:30-4:30pm at the Lafayette Public Library. If you would like to attend, please click here to RSVP and reserve your spot!
