It can be an exciting time, but pregnancy can also be very stressful. Carrying a little one can be a big drain on your resources and your energy. You will need to do everything that you can to look after yourself during this important time. Here are a few things that you will need to think about when you are having a baby.
To Find Out The Sex, Or Not To
From about eighteen to twenty weeks into the pregnancy, your doctor will be able to determine the sex of your baby by asking you for a scheduled gender assessment scan. That is, of course, if you want to find that information out.
You are not obligated to find it, and if you don’t want to know, be sure and let your doctor or nurse know this. There are arguments each way for finding this information out.
For many people, it is important as they want to think about choosing names for babies early on. They may wish to start buying items for their child, and they will want to know that they are buying the right items.
For many who choose not to find out, the element of surprise is often the driving force behind the decision. Waiting until the baby is born can be a nice experience for some parents.
For other parents, the gender of the child is irrelevant. There are plenty of names that can be used by any gender, and there really is no problem with what color baby grow their child has.
Where To Have Your Baby
The most common place to have a baby will be your hospital. You may have a couple of choices of maternity wards within your area and you should work out which is the easiest for you to get to. Drive the route a few times so that you and your partner can become familiar with it. Try alternative routes too, in case of road closures and delays.
You may have chosen to have a home birth. If you are doing this, your midwife may wish to visit you at home to help you prepare. You may want to get a birthing pool, in which case you will need to have this prepared in advance. Water births can be less stressful for both the mother and the baby. You can buy your own birthing pool online.
Generally, if there are no complications surrounding your pregnancy, there is very little risk involved in having your baby at home. Speak with your doctors before you start to organize this as there may be a good reason that you should continue with giving birth in a hospital.
The advantages of having a hospital birth are that there will be specialist staff on hand should anything go wrong. There is immediate access to any equipment that may be helpful.
Should anything go wrong on home birth, you will need to transfer your baby to hospital immediately, so sure and plan for this outcome in case there is an emergency.
