Labor Tip #2 - Take Control

I often write about my concerns that mothers aren't making informed decisions during labor, instead deferring to their care providers unquestioningly.  So, what do I recommend as an alternative?  Take control!  It's your body, your baby, your labor!  While I absolutely believe in finding and developing a trusting relationship with a trained, talented, experienced care provider, I do not support blind trust.  You need to understand what your care provider is recommending and why, and since you know your body better than anyone else, you ultimately need to be the one making the decisions about your care... in conjunction WITH your care provider.

So, what do you do if your care provider says you or your baby is at risk and an intervention is necessary?

Use the BRAND method to undestand the intervention:

• B - Ask your doctor what the BENEFITS are of this intervention.
• R - Ask your caregiver to explain the RISKS to you and your baby.
• A - What are the ALTERNATIVES available to you.
• N - What happens if you choose to do NOTHING?
• D - What if you DELAY the intervention for 1 minute? 5 minutes? 30 minutes?

Unless the situation is a true emergency, your caregiver should be able to provide you this information in just a moment or two of discussion, and allow you and your partner a moment to discuss.  I recommend testing this method out prenatally on a recommended test or procedure to get a good idea of how your caregiver will respond.  If they are not respectful and open about this type of  discussion prenatally, consider how they will be during labor, and how comfortable you are with that.

Empowerment with the correct knowledge and information is useful so you can ask the correct questions.  Your fear of childbirth and the process can be addressed by getting support and learning about the labor process and pain relief options. (This is where a doula can come in really handy, FYI...)

It is so important to understand that ultimately, a woman's satisfaction with her birth experience is related much more to her involvement in the decision-making than to the outcome.