Tips Tuesday!

Around the holidays, most people are stressed about presents, travel, and what to serve for the holiday dinner. However, when you are pregnant and are anticipating a holiday delivery, you are probably experiencing an entirely different kind of stress- the pressure to deliver "on time" and not on Christmas or New Years when your doctor or health care provider might be on vacation.

In fact, it is fairly common for women who are expecting around the holidays to be told to try and "schedule" their deliveries around the holidays. However, Marilyn Curl, the president of Lamaze International warns that scheduling a delivery around the holidays rather than the baby itself can actually put the newborn at risk. Some of the complications of scheduling the baby's birthday in cases such as this is that the baby will be delivered just a little too early and this can result in a slew of health hazards including death.

Expectant moms can play a key part in avoiding the pressure to deliver unnecessarily.Often times, it is the expectant women themselves who "want to get the pregnancy over with" in time for the holiday celebrations. However, remember that those last few weeks and days inside the uterus can be crucial to the baby's health, so if you are due around the holidays be sure to consult with your healthcare professional about your baby's development and be the best advocate you can be! Here are some tips to avoid the pressure to unnecessarily deliver early:

-Though you might be anxious to get the birth "over with", delivery is not to be played down. The delivery is one of the most important parts of the pregnancy process and needs to be taken very seriously.

-Repeat the mantra "I will let my labor begin on its own" to help you calm yourself down when you feel frustrated that your baby is not seemingly ready even though you are!

-Surround yourself with support and love so that you have reminders that it is not about when the baby comes that matters, it is the idea that when the baby comes that will be a celebration in itself.

-Try not to feel guilty about being "due" and not "delivery". If you end up delivering on a holiday, no biggie! Your care providers are professionals who experience births very often and understand that the baby waits for no one.

-Enjoy the holidays! Being plus one (or more) gives you the excuse to devour all the delicious food you want so relish in it for as long as you can!

Have a wonderful day!

xoxo,

The Moody Mamas