10 Questions Pregnant Women Should Ask Before Giving Birth

As an OB/GYN, I know pregnant women have a boatload of questions as their due date approaches. But so often, they fail to plan ahead and get their questions asked until they’re huffing and puffing in labor. And trust me. This is NOT the best time.

To help out pregnant readers, I’ve prepared a list of the questions I believe it’s in your best interest to get answered well in advance of when labor ensues. Knowing the answers to these questions will prevent disappointment, frustration, and unmet expectations. So print out this list, take it to your next doctor’s appointment, and make sure you feel comfortable with the answers you get.

After all, it’s your body, your baby, your health, and you deserve to receive the kind of care you desire.

10 Questions To Ask Your Doctor

1. Will you be the one delivering my baby?

2. What’s your C-section rate compared to your hospital’s average?

3. If I don’t go into labor on my own, how long will you let me stay pregnant before inducing my labor?

4. If I think I’m in labor or my water bag breaks, should I call you or just come to the hospital?

5. How many people can I bring with me to the hospital?

6. If I want to walk around, eat, or take a shower during labor, will I be allowed?

7. Does your hospital limit how late in labor you can get an epidural?

8. Do you routinely cut episiotomies?

9. If necessary, do you prefer using forceps or a vacuum? How long will you let me push before breaking out the forceps or vacuum or proceeding to C-section?

10. If my baby has any unexpected complications, will the baby be kept with me at the hospital or transferred somewhere else?

Other questions you might want to ask, depending on the kind of delivery you desire, include:

1. Do you enjoy working with doulas if I hire one?

2. Are midwives available at your hospital, and would you mind partnering with one if I choose to work with one?

3. Are you supportive of natural childbirth?

4. Will a lactation consultant be available to help me with breastfeeding?

5. Do you perform circumcisions?

Knowing the strengths, limitations, and opinions of your doctor will help you avoid conflict when you’ve got other, more important things to worry about – like delivering a baby.

Empowering you to take your childbirth into your own hands,

****

Lissa Rankin, MD: Founder of OwningPink.com, Pink Medicine Revolutionary, motivational speaker, and author of What’s Up Down There? Questions You’d Only Ask Your Gynecologist If She Was Your Best Friend and Encaustic Art: The Complete Guide To Creating Fine Art With Wax.

Learn more about Lissa Rankin here.

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Eternal G.

5:34PM PDT on Mar 18, 2012

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Annemarie W.

11:21PM PST on Feb 29, 2012

thanks

Ra S.

1:59PM PST on Feb 28, 2012

These are good questions. It's hard to think of everything in advance.

Ashley L.

11:13AM PST on Feb 28, 2012

Thanks for sharing these. I don't have any children yet but we are discussing them and a few of these are questions I hadn't even considered yet. Thanks again!

Lika S.

12:35AM PST on Feb 26, 2012

I think these are good questions.

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10:11PM PST on Feb 23, 2012

Sandy,

"Wes G. Are you destroying the planet?"

Absolutely. Yes. Unequivocally.

Everyone who's life depends on fossil fuels is actively participating in the destruction of our planet. For starters, every single ounce of food in every grocery store in my town, got there on wheels that were powered by gasoline or diesel fuel. Building the trucks and the highways they run on did tremendous damage to the land. The agricultural industry that supplies the food, that the trucks haul, that comes from all over the world, does enormous damage. If you own a computer, (as do I) you're definitely part of the problem. If you move around in trains, planes, cars or buses, (yes I do) you're part of the problem. If you live in a house that has to be heated, regardless of what kind of fuel used, you're part of the problem. All of these things are destroying the planet and yes I'm guilty of all of them.

But I'm not guilty of bringing more people into an already overwhelmed planet.