When I gave birth, 8 and 5 ½ years ago, my dream team was my husband along with the luck of the draw on doctor on call and nurse on duty. This is the case for SOOO many women and everyone’s experience with this setup will be different. I was so fortunate to have everything fall in place, but I have also heard countless horror stories.
If I were to build the pregnancy and birth dream team, here is the mix of professionals and services I would piece together…
- Community based midwife- I would be in search of a midwife that lived within an hour drive of me, who held values similar to mine regarding birth and provides thorough prenatal and postpartum care. She would support my desire for a natural birth but demonstrate acceptance of the need for hospital services in specific circumstances.
- Birth Doula- I would hire a doula to help me both prepare for birth and be present to support my needs during labor, so I wouldn’t need to stress about my husband providing such support and worrying that he may not know what to do.
- My Partner- I would still want my husband present but would feel more at ease knowing we both had “coaches” to help us through the whole process. The pressure on him would be so much less, that I think he would actually be able to take in the experience rather than “run a marathon” supporting me through it.
- Pelvic Floor Therapist- I would find a holistic pelvic floor therapist that works with pregnant and postpartum women. Prenatal pelvic floor therapy has exponential benefits for your birth and postpartum experience, yet so many women wait until after birth to access this incredibly important service.
- Chiropractor- I would work with a chiropractor regularly to help maintain my structural alignment through birth and help ease common aches and pains.
- Body Ready Method- I would enroll in this program as my main source of movement and exercise through pregnancy beyond walking and swimming.This online program teaches you how to prepare mentally AND physically for pregnancy, birth and beyond. Learn more HERE and use code: dcgG0468 to save $10.
- Postpartum Doula- I would hire a postpartum doula for as much support as possible in the first 4-6 weeks postpartum. This type of support is SO underrated yet completely life altering! A postpartum doula steps in and helps your household to keep humming along while allowing you the time and space to truly rest, bond and heal your body. The support postpartum doulas provide is personalized and can be the difference between hanging on by a thread and actually feeling partially human.
- Postpartum Meal Service- I’m not talking about some standard meal service, but a meal delivery focused on providing meals geared toward postpartum recovery. This wouldn’t be a delivery of meals for my whole family but rather a delivery of meals for myself that support the healing of my body.
What service did you receive in pregnancy or postpartum that made all the difference?
Note… I am under no delusional impression that this array of services is within the means of the average family. This dream team comes with a great expense!
On the other hand, this list is designed to provide you with a list of amazingly helpful services and I hope it supports you in making a wise decision on what you would benefit from most. Receiving the care of even one of these professionals or services can exponentially impact your pregnancy, birth and postpartum.
In health,
Hilary
PS: If your budget is extremely limited and you find all of these services to be beyond your means, I urge you to look into my “Aligned with Birth” course. It is a budget friendly ($33) course that offers information similar to what you would find in Body Ready Method with a mix of pelvic floor health, physical and mindset birth prep!
CLICK HERE to learn more and enroll!
