Text Box: After the birth of my son I would talk to anyone who asked me the time of day about the whole process. This was mainly because I was dying for adult conversation, but also because I was proud. I felt I had done an excellent job of bringing a new life into this world. Although I still feel that way, I know a lot more now than I did at 24. I can honestly say that I do not regret any part of my pregnancy (well maybe the 2 Chipotle Burritos everyday for lunch) but I would do some things differently. During the first month I was pregnant I experienced a lot of sharp pains in my lower abdomen (I know now that uterine band / round ligament stretching is normal) but I went to the hospital and endured a catheter (for ultrasound) and hours of terror to be told by the doctor on call that “No pains during pregnancy are normal”. My general physician afterwards cleared things up for me a great deal. I was in college and UIC provided for Family Health or Women’s Health. The brief explanation of Women’s Health was “they use midwives and doulas but if there is a problem during delivery you will get any physician on call”. Luckily, Dr. Karl Kirby was heaven sent to us. She was very forward thinking, and went along with anything I wanted during my pregnancy and birth. She is truly a gem of a doctor. Here are some things that I did have while pregnant: Continued with my Vegan Diet (now almost 20 years) Attended a Lamaze Childbirth education class 5 week series Practiced Yoga, Took Prenatal Aquatic Classes, Swam, Exercised, Weight Training Regular Blood / Urine Tests at visits(I was dehydrated most of my pregnancy) Several VEs An ultrasound at month 7-8 or so because I was so stressed about the health of the baby An exam by a High Risk OB/GYN—which turned out was unnecessary 2 Fetal Stress Test—my sons was overdue by 2 weeks Membranes Stripped External Fetal Monitoring Antibiotic IV– HepLock—at 12 hours for having membranes ruptured so long Episiotomy—son’s head got stuck, I decided on this last minute Vitamin K drops, etc. Apgar immediately What I did in delivery: Foot massage, leg massage, lower back massage Walked, walked, walked Warm Showers Hands and Knees pushing Slept in bed when I could Read, completed crosswords Ate—ordered from Leona’s minestrone soup, salad, bread—all vegan diet Used a pushing bar Tried the whole Lamaze panting, wound up using purple pushing After delivery: Went home 1 day later Suffered shock, chills, fever and shaking Breastfed for 6 months, vegan diet still Had mastitis 3 times Dealt with baby blues, especially after discontinuing breastfeeding Fed my son ProSoybee and raise him on a vegan diet Some of the items on these lists I would try to avoid again if possible. For sure I would stay at home during early labor. There was no need to be in the hospital for 24 hours. Many women such as myself have a skewed version of how long the labor process is because active labor is the last stage and we wind up at the hospital way before we have to be there. I would definitely hire a labor assistant for delivery and a postpartum assistant to help for the first few weeks, there was a ton to do and never enough time to sleep. I would still workout, swim and practice yoga—those were invaluable tools for the endurance part of labor, and I would definitely breastfeed again—but this time I would invest in an electric pump for convenience. I would drop the holding my breath to push because that was unbearable and unnecessary, and try to go without the fetal monitoring—they tried to keep me in bed but I wouldn’t stay. I would also go without the membrane stripping and episiotomy. Still not sure about holding a newborn right out of the gate so to speak, my son and I are very close and I had him cleaned up before holding him. These were all my choices, I made all of them based on 9 months of reading and information. Some of them I would change with my next birth, but none of them do I regret because I made these decisions as an empowered adult. The decisions that I agreed to without informing myself about their need (such as blood tests every visit) I do not regret but worry that there are other women out there who do not realize that they have the power to say “No”. Your doctor or health care provider works for you, never be afraid to question and always know that you have the right to leave and find another provider. Now that you know about me, I would love to get to know about you. Please feel free to post your birth stories on our board