Are you pregnant and have so many questions, you don’t even know where to start? I got you. Here are 5 questions to ask your doctor about birth that can help you start the conversation to get the kind of birth you want.
If you aren’t comfortable asking your doctor questions or they won’t take the time to fully answer all the questions you do ask, that’s a red flag. You may need to consider changing practices or doctors to find someone you’re more comfortable with.
Will you support the birth I want?
What are you hoping for? Unmedicated? Water birth? VBAC?
If you have an idea of how you want to birth, it’s best to ask right off the bat if your doctor will support you in achieving it. If their answer is no, ask why. Maybe your hospital doesn’t have birthing pools and if you really want that, you might need to consider alternative options. If they scoff at you because you’re a first time Mom and they think you’re naive for wanting to birth without pain meds, maybe you want to ask them why… or maybe you just want to file it away for a good “IN YOUR FACE!” moment later.
Whatever the case, find a practitioner that will do **everything in their power to support the birth of your dreams.
**Acknowledging that not everything is in their power and birth is unpredictable.
In what circumstances do you perform c-sections?
Or maybe: “What’s your c-section rate?” This is the percentage of births that end in c-sections for a particular doctor or practice. They may or may not know this. But their c-section rate can be very telling. For instance, the largest homebirth study done in the US showed a c-section rate for planned homebirths to be about 5%, while the overall c-section rate for the US is currently around 32%. This is a big difference and it’s ok to wonder why that may be. Where does your doctor fall on this line?
No shade to Mamas who have had or have to have a cesarean. There are absolutely circumstances where a c-section is necessary and life-saving. Your doctor should be able to tell you when and why they might want to perform a c-section, as well as answer any more questions that come up related to those answers.
Red flag: Your doctor’s c-section rate is higher than you’re comfortable with, or they are unwilling to answer your questions directly.
In what positions are you willing to help me labor and birth my baby?
Ideally, your doctor will be open to you moving around during labor and trying different positions for comfort or to get baby to move into a more optimal position. The reality is, though, that they probably won’t be present for much of your labor. And you may or may not get a great labor and delivery nurse that’s knowledgable in this way.
When my water broke a month before my due date with my first child, we panicked. We went straight to the hospital. Annnnnd then we just sat there for the next 7 hours. It would have been helpful for a nurse (or anyone) to say, “Maybe you should get up and walk around?” Or suggest anything other than my husband and I staring in shock at each other and the walls. Because we for sure weren’t “resting.” They knew the doctor would want to induce if labor didn’t begin on its own, but no one suggested any way to try to get things going before starting Pitocin the next morning.
This is where a doula could be so helpful! You knew that was coming, right? #Ilovedoulas
Do you have any experience working with doulas?
Notice I didn’t say: “Do you allow doulas in the delivery room?” or any variation of that question. That’s because you don’t need your doctor’s permission to have a doula present. You get to choose your support people. And doulas can provide invaluable support, not the least of which might be reminding you to move during labor.
Hopefully, your doctor will have had some good experiences with doulas at births. But it’s possible, especially in rural areas, that they might have never even met a doula or know anything about them.
A red flag here would be if your doctor is vehemently against doula support. Doulas have been shown to improve birth outcomes for Moms and babies, so one would have to wonder why any doctor would be against that.
What’s your stance on eating and drinking during labor?
This one makes the list because eating and drinking is very important to me.
It’s outdated and many doctors don’t do this anymore, but some doctors still tell women they can’t eat during labor. I don’t know about you, but I’m not about to go head first into one of the hardest things I’ll ever do on an empty stomach.
I packed snacks for my third birth because I was worried the doctor or nurses wouldn’t let me eat. Here I would like to kindly remind you, as I wish someone would have told me before my first birth: you don’t need permission to eat. You can’t expect to have the energy you need to push a whole human out of your own body without eating.
I’m not saying eat an entire Hawaiian pizza during active labor. But if you’re hungry, your body is telling you it needs something. Listen to it.
This is a follow-up to my previous post 5 Things Your Doctor Might Not Tell You About Giving Birth. Some questions were directly related, but some are just questions that I think are important to ask. All are a jumping point. You probably have other questions; jot them down and ask! Remember, your doctor works for you.
As always, this list of 5 questions to ask your doctor about birth is by no means comprehensive. What questions would you add?? Let me know below!
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