Building your Birth Team
What is a birth team?
Before you have your baby, you’ll want to create your birth care team. These are the people that support your before, during and after birth.
Birth preparation goes beyond packing a hospital bag or cleaning your entire home. It does in fact take a village to welcome your bundle of joy and offer support for your specific needs.
Let’s take a look at who you can involve on your birth team,
1. Midwife or OBGYN
There are a few differences between midwives and OB/GYN.
Obstetricians are medical doctors who specialize in pregnancy and childbirth, especially in the management of high-risk pregnancies and pregnancy complications.
Midwives undergo a 4-year bachelor of health sciences degree in midwifery and are experts in healthy pregnancies.
Typically, you will see obstetricians in hospital facilities and midwives in birthing centers or home deliveries.
When it comes to your pregnancy and delivery, consider where you would ideally like to give birth before determining who to ask to deliver your baby.
2. Chiropractor
Your spinal health and biomechanics change significantly during pregnancy. Your center of gravity shifts forward causing more torsion and stress to be placed on your lower back, hips and sacrum. As pregnancy progresses the hormone relaxin increases as your body prepares to give birth. It is now projected that 50% of women will experience back pain during pregnancy. Chiropractors can offer gentle and safe adjustments to relieve stress on the joints, muscles, and ligaments.
The Webster Technique
The Webster Technique is a specific chiropractic technique that reduces nerve interference and balances the maternal pelvis, muscles, and ligaments. This optimizes uterine function and allows for a better and easier birth outcomes.
3. Doula
I can say from experience that having a doula present for both of my births was one of the best decisions I made while building my birth team. It was amazing having another women present there advocating for me as I was focused on labor and delivery and honored my specific wishes.
Doulas are trained birth professionals that offer support in pregnancy, during labor and delivery and after birth. Their primary role is to help you make informed decisions, listen to your goals and needs, and provide physical and emotional support. Doulas can also offer information about specific procedures that may take place and be the liaison between the expectant parents and the other birth professionals.
Whether you need reassurance, comfort or encouragement, she can provide it.
The cost for a doula in Saskatchewan is between $800-$2000 depending on what services you want. It is a worthy investment.
4. Lactation Consultant (LC)
Prenatal women often do not get enough education prior to giving birth about breastfeeding and the challenges that come up. Some examples include, tongue or lip ties, mastitis, engorgement, or general feeding issues.
If you have a desire to breastfeed, then having a LC on your team can reduce stress and remove obstacles that you may be faced with.
Lactation consultants offer support and education for families and address any concerns or struggles that may come up in their breastfeeding journey.
5. Pelvic Floor Physiotherapist
Pelvic floor physiotherapy (PFPT) is a specialized branch of physiotherapy involving internal and external assessment and treatment of the pelvic floor muscles. Those muscles are located between the hip bones and the sacrum, and they serve as a bowl to support the pelvic organs including the bladder, colon and uterus.
You can benefit from pelvic floor physio during pregnancy and after delivery. Some women will experience, heaviness, prolapse, diastasis recti or incontinence after having a baby. Pelvic floor physio helps balance and rehabilitate the traumatized areas.
It is best to address any of these challenges early on so that it does not worsen over time.
6. Family members or friends
Your closest family members and friends may be some of your biggest support systems when it comes to your pregnancy and delivery. It is 100% your choice who you want at your birth and who you want help from postpartum. This can look like having someone clean your home before or after baby arrives, grocery shopping, babysitting other children or giving you some time to sleep/shower. It may sound basic but it really makes a huge difference in your motherhood journey.
A few other team members to consider:
- Acupuncturist
- Family Doctor
- Prenatal Yoga Instructor
- Hypnotherapist
Pregnancy and birth is a unique and transformative journey. Having a team to support, guide and encourage you can make the journey into motherhood empowering and beautiful.
Yours in Health,
Dr. Kayla Lucas