If you are experiencing pregnancy and birth again again, it could all feel very familiar or it can be a totally different experience with brand new symptoms.
Your pregnancy may involve fewer midwife appointments – although you can ask for more if you need them. If you experienced conditions such as pre-eclampsia, gestational diabetes or obstetric cholestasis in your last pregnancy, you may be offered more antenatal checks this time.
You may need to take your other children to your scans and midwife appointments – it can be useful to write down any questions for your midwife because you might get distracted, and take snacks and toys just incase you have to wait around.
Here’s a few considerations for doing pregnancy and birth again
- Life is busy when you have children so it is very normal to feel like you are not really able to focus on your pregnancy, on your bump and on your birth preparation in the same way.
I work with a lot of second and third time parents and many get in touch with me during their third trimester when they need to get focused on birth again. Some parents want to do a course to focus on their birth preparation or their breathing skills and others want 1:1 sessions.
- You could be faced with different birth options this time around, as well as in need of a need to debrief your previous birth before you can focus on giving birth again. It can be important to gather relevant information so you know more about your options and how to be better prepared. 1:1 sessions are ideal.
- One of the biggest considerations when thinking about birth again is childcare – your older children need to be taken care of so you can have a baby: you might have family on hand to help out at a moment’s notice or you may need to rely on a combination of friends or family – it can be helpful to make a list of names with numbers and availability so you can know who you can call on when labour starts.
- You could also be experiencing a new level of tired because you have an older child to look after and you are most probably juggling work as well so there’s not really much chance to have a break. Grab as much rest as you can with early nights and as many lie-ins as possible if naps aren’t happening – it can be helpful to plan this in and ask for any support.
You can download a checklist to help do pregnancy and birth again
Please do get in touch to talk through and prepare for birth again – it can be helpful to refresh your knowledge and skills, to talk through your options and to get your head ready for birth.
Working with parents since 2002
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Copyright: Janine Smith