I’m newly pregnant and would like to know how I can get some information about labor and childbirth. Where do I go from here?

First, congratulations! You must be so excited. Since there is so much information to gather you’re wise to start looking early in your pregnancy. If you’ve already hired a provider, begin with him/her for all the literature he/she has available. You may want to consider hiring a doula or a midwife to help with your planning—with their experience they’ll be able to give you information you didn’t even know to ask about. The chapter "Hiring the Help" can help you choose the right provider, midwife and/or doula, and if you already have one it provides a checklist to make sure you have hired the one that’s best for you.

Taking prenatal classes will help prepare you for your special day and show you how to best handle labor. To help you, in the back of the book is a list of 45 books that are available for the newly pregnant and a list of 46 of the best websites to answer all your questions. Again, congratulations on your pregnancy, and remember, the more you learn over the next nine months the better prepared you’ll be for your baby’s birth.


I’ve been reading about more and more people using epidurals for pain management. So it must be okay, right?

Unfortunately, most of the information you hear about epidurals is misleading, they're not safe for mom or baby. In some situations, like cesareans and very rare extremely-painful labors, epidurals can be useful. But because it leaves the mom fairly pain free, keeping her quiet and possibly even asleep during her labor, providers and hospital staff are encouraging epidurals for almost all patients.

In the chapter "Medications in Labor" there are 18 pages explaining the complications and risks associated with epidurals. It also shows that when an intervention of any kind is introduced it won’t be the only one. Every intervention creates a situation that leads to others to keep your labor "normal."

The chapter "Complementary Thinking" shows other methods that are very doable for labor management—like HypnoBirthing, Yoga, Reflexology, and Accupresure. So please read, read, and read some more about any and all medical interventions before you make a hasty decision.


I’m overdue and my doctor wants to induce labor. But I’m hesitant because I’m only two days past my due date.

This is very common. Some providers find it more convenient to schedule the time and day of your labor rather than let nature take its course, and saying that "being overdue can create possible risks for the baby" is just an excuse for a planned induction. A baby who is not showing stress or losing amniotic fluid can safely be born as much as two weeks before your due date and two weeks after.

If your provider wants to induce ask for a NST (non-stress test) to find out how the baby is tolerating the pregnancy. If your baby and you are doing well then you have every right to tell your provider that you’re willing to wait until the baby is ready to come into the world—even if it’s in the middle of the night on a weekend.

The chapters "Birth Plans" and "Hiring the Help" will help you achieve your desires and find a provider that doesn’t have this mindset.


What’s the big deal about Pitocin? If it gets labor over with quicker isn’t that what we all want?

Yes, it would be great if all our labors were only four hours long, but unfortunately the average labor lasts between 12–18 hours. What’s important to know about Pitocin is that it’s a very aggressive drug when used to induce labor or increase the strength of existing contractions. Because of the risks and complications associated with Pitocin, in the 1970s the FDA did not approve of its use for induction and to this day they don’t approve of its use for shortening labor. Nevertheless, because it’ll get your baby birthed quicker, Pitocin is frequently used in hospitals—up to 81%—and it’s most commonly prescribed during the day so providers can get home at a reasonable hour.

Constant monitoring is necessary with Pitocin, which means you have to stay near the monitor—away from showers, Jacuzzis and walking the halls. The pressure to the uterus can be so intense that the baby can’t tolerate it and may show signs of distress that can lead to a cesarean. Yes, your labor will be shorter, but Pitocin comes with a lot of risks for you and your baby. Like epidurals, it creates complications, and by reading the chapter "Medications in Labor" you’ll learn what they are.


I want to have my baby at home but everyone I talk to, including my provider, says that it is dangerous and only someone foolish would consider it. Are they right?

No, not at all. I had both my girls at home and then became a midwife and worked for over six years in Canada doing homebirths with Dr. Una Jean Sayles. I’ve caught over 200 babies and only had to transport five to the hospital—and none were "get them in there or they will die" situations. There is an extensive study in my chapter "Homebirths" conducted by Dr. Lewis Mehl on home vs. hospital births. His findings include:
- Three times greater likelihood of cesarean operation if a woman gave birth in a hospital
- Twenty times more use of forceps in a hospital
- Twice as much use of oxytocin to accelerate or induce labor in a hospital
- A greater incidence of episiotomy (while at the same time having more severe tears in need of major repair) in a hospital
- Six times more infant distress in labor in the hospital
- Five times more cases of maternal high blood pressure in a hospital
- Three times greater incidence of postpartum hemorrhage in a hospital
- Four times more infection among the newborns in a hospital
- Three times more babies that needed help to begin breathing in a hospital
- The hospital group had thirty cases of birth injuries, including skull fractures, facial nerve palsies, brachial nerve injuries, and severe cephalohematomas. There were no such injuries at home.

Just keep in mind that you can’t merely "want" a homebirth— you have to plan it, hire the right professionals, have the proper backup plan, have the right place to birth your baby and be willing to read everything you can on childbirth.

The chapter on "Hiring The Help" will help you choose the right Midwife, Doula and Provider. There’s also a chapter called "Homebirths" that will help with any questions you may have for a successful birth. Enjoy and good luck… and believe me, you’re not making an unsafe or stupid decision by wanting to birth your baby at home.


Two years ago I had a cesarean because of malpresentation and not for medical reasons. Now that I’m pregnant again I want to have a VBAC. How do I find someone who will let me do this?

This is getting harder and harder all the time. ACOG (American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology) has recently changed the guidelines for VBAC’s. Before, when a woman was trying to deliver vaginally after a cesarean, a surgical team had to be within 30 minutes from the hospital. Now, a surgical team has to be immediately available—which means that a team has to be physically in the hospital 24/7 in case of a uterine rupture during a labor. And they aren’t willing to do that. Providers use the excuse of a uterine rupture during a trial of labor to prevent you from requesting a VBAC, but the chances of that happening are less then 1%. The real reason they refuse to offer VBAC’s is 1) their colleagues (the surgical team) are refusing to stay over, and 2) a cesarean only takes about 30 minutes of their time, which can be scheduled early in the morning, versus a 12–18 hour labor that could stretch into the night.

The chapter on "VBAC" helps you to hire the right provider, helps create a doable birth plan, and answers questions to make a vaginal birth after a previous cesarean possible.


I hear that a lot of birth plans aren’t being honored in hospitals. What’s going on? Aren’t birth plans the written desires of the parents?

Birth plans are so important for getting what you want during your labor and birth—but, unfortunately, hospital staffs aren’t properly recognizing them. Many times birth plans are just stuffed into the charts and are totally ignored, leaving you with less than the perfect birth you had planned. Other times they aren’t taken seriously and, through pressure, you’re swayed from what you originally wanted to make it easier for your provider and the hospital staff.

There’s an important secret about birth plans that will make them effective: During the last couple of visits with your provider review the birth plan with him and then have him sign it. Make a couple of copies and take one to the hospital when you go into labor. Your provider’s signature changes your birth plan from your "desires" to his orders and the chances are very good that you’ll get (if medically possible) everything that you requested.

The chapter "Birth Plans" will give you a lot of information including a worksheet to help you create an effective and working birth plan.