You’re Pregnant! Now What?!
Whether it’s a surprise or you’ve been hoping, wishing, and praying—you are going to be a parent! After the initial feelings wear off, you’ll be totally ready to write that to-do list… but where do you start?
Determining Your Due Date
Your doctor or midwife will ultimately determine your due date based on your last menstrual period, the date of your intrauterine insemination, and/or a dating ultrasound. While you wait, you can predict your due date using an online due date calculator.
Taking Care of Your Pregnant Body
If you have not already started taking a prenatal vitamin, now is the time. You can safely continue exercising, just be sure to listen to your body. Avoid alcohol, drink plenty of water and focus on eating whole, unprocessed foods whenever you can.
Choosing a Primary Maternity Caregiver
Early, consistent prenatal care is an important part of a healthy pregnancy. Family doctors, obstetricians, and midwives provide medical care for pregnancy and deliver babies in the United States. If you don’t already have a prenatal care provider, you can ask your family doctor for a referral.
When seeking maternity medical care, choose a care provider whose philosopies about birth align with your own.
Building a Birth Team
What professional and personal support would you like for pregnancy and birth? Will you have your parents or other family at your birth, or around to help once baby is born? Which friends can you rely on to provide you with support? Is professional prenatal and postpartum support right for you?
Options for emotional, educational, and physical support during your pregnancy may include:
your partner
family and friends
birth doulas
virtual doulas
childbirth educators
Options for support in the postpartum period may include:
your partner
family and friends
nannies/night nannies
postpartum doulas
newborn care specialists
lactation consultants
placenta encapsulators
Keep in mind many birthing facilities have restrictions on the number of support people you can have with you, due to the risk of spreading COVID-19. For this reason, many of the birth doulas we work with offer virtual support. You should also consider COVID-19 restrictions for travel and in-home visitors when planning for support from friends, family, and professionals.
Consider adding in person or virtual birth doula support to your team. Both labor doulas and postpartum doulas are an integral part of having a smooth pregnancy, birth, and recovery. Fill out our care questionnaire to be matched with doulas near you and get the personalized support you deserve. Our doulas work cohesively with everyone on your team, ensuring your experience is all about you!
Childbirth Education
You have a variety of options for childbirth education/prenatal classes. Good quality prenatal classes will help you prepare for birth, provide you with unbiased information on your choices for birth, and inform you of the most up-to-date recommendations and hospital policies.
Depending on your preferences, many of the professionals we work with provide a variety of options for prenatal education including:
virtual prenatal classes
private in-home prenatal classes
group childbirth education
hypnosis for childbirth
We can help you find the right prenatal classes and childbirth education to meet your needs, in addition to matching you with doulas and sleep consultants, anywhere in the United States.
Finding out you’re pregnant is a monumental moment in your life. Congratulations—the National Baby Co. team wishes you a happy pregnancy!