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Depending on your values, needs and birth plan, your team may consist of a combination of professionals and loved ones.
Why Having Your Birth Team In Place Is Helpful
By the time the third trimester arrives, you’ll likely be balancing antenatal appointments, dealing with physical discomfort and preparing your home for welcoming your baby. At this stage, many women have a normal urgency to tick things off checklists and to lock in plans. But don’t put together your birth team in the last few weeks. It takes time, trust, and a focus on data and facts.Getting an early (ideally in the second trimester) start creates room for you to explore your options, ask questions, meet via introductory consultations and make course corrections if things go awry. It also lowers your stress level, gives you a sense of control and provides continuity of care from people who already know your medical history and personal preferences.Important Members of Your Birth Team
It’s useful to think of your birth team as a tiered circle of core clinical care providers sitting in the very centre, supported by additional individuals who show up to different parts of the birthing journey. Here are a few of the key members to think about:- Obstetrician/Gynaecologist (OB-GYN): Your main medical authority during pregnancy and childbirth. They are responsible for all major clinical decisions, track foetal development, deal with any potential health risks, and perform the delivery if you opt for a hospital birth.
- Birth Partner or Spouse: The person your emotions are tied to when giving birth. This can be your partner, a close friend, or family members, basically, a person you trust to keep you grounded and who understands your aspirations.
- Physio or Prenatal Fitness Specialist: Much can be done with pregnancy-safe physical therapy to mitigate aches, body posture changes and pelvic health. A prenatal fitness coach can also show you safe exercises to do that build stamina for labour.
- Mental Health Professional: Prenatal anxiety and mood swings are common enough. It can be a huge relief to have a psychologist or perinatal therapist as part of your support circle to ensure your emotional wellbeing is front and centre, especially if you have a history of anxiety, depression, or birth trauma.
Some Advice (If You Have Access Early):
- Lactation Consultant: While most new mothers will pursue their help after giving birth, a preliminary consultation during pregnancy will get you ready for any breastfeeding challenges that arise, as well as help clarify expectations.
- Selecting the Right People: Things to Consider: Choosing your birth team requires a balance of instinct and information. In addition to qualifications, pay attention to compatibility and communication style. Here are some key considerations to help with your choice:
- Shared Philosophy: Pick people who are in favour of what you want for your birth, natural birth, medicated birth, scheduled C-section, whatever the case may be. You should never feel judged or pressured into making decisions.
- Accessibility: Are they near your home or birthing hospital? Will they be on-call as you near your due date?
- Experience: Newer practitioners may energise the field, but the veterans have extensive hands-on experience and know how to negotiate the unexpected well.
- Linguistic and Cultural Sensitivity: This can be particularly applicable in multicultural families or within inter-generational households, where making your preferences known may need some tact and diplomacy.
- Willingness to Collaborate: Your birth team should have good synergy. If a person is dismissive of a team member’s input, that could impact your care experience.
Discussions to Have With Your Birth Team
Once you’ve taken a short list of potential members, arrange initial conversations. These are usually exploratory and about comfort levels. It’s wise to clarify expectations on both sides.Some Questions You May Want to Discuss:- Their philosophy around interventions in labour, such as episiotomy, induction or epidural.
- How they handle complications during delivery or emergency situations.
- Whether they’re amenable to birth plans and how they deal with changes to them.
- Their position on partner engagement and cultural practices that are important to you.
- Postpartum care, including mental health follow-up and baby care guidance.
How to Navigate Conflicting Advice
As you start meeting multiple professionals, contradictory advice may come up. One might advocate for hospital protocols; the other, natural birthing practices. If you’re feeling overwhelmed instead, try these tips:- Anchor in evidence: Ask what each opinion means and why. What clinical evidence is there that supports it? What are the pros and cons?
- Follow your gut: You’re the best judge of your own body and what feels comfortable. Consider advice as data, not instruction.
- Birth plan in write-up: This is essentially a guiding document that can help you and your team align everyone towards your priorities.
Planning for Contingencies
Due to the unpredictability of childbirth, your team should consist of professionals as well as secondary points of contact in the event that they should become unavailable or in the event of an emergency. Talk to your OB-GYN about:- Who you would like to step in if they are unable to during labour
- How the hospital staff will communicate in these situations
- What to expect if you go into labour early or are induced
Emotional Support Matters Too
Aside from clinical efficiency, the emotional DNA your team brings into the birthing room can greatly impact your experience. A caring, patient, and respectful ambience allows you to remain calm and self-assured. If a team member makes you feel judged, rushed or dismissed, it’s perfectly reasonable to re-evaluate their role, even late in pregnancy.There are enough physical and emotional transitions in the third trimester! Preparing your birth team in advance allows you room to assess, ask questions and form a plan that is in your voice. This is your birth story to take in and remember. The people who walk it with you should empower, support and stand by you every step of the way!FAQs on How to Assemble a Supportive Birth Team Before the Third-Trimester Rush
- When should I start building a birth team?In a perfect world, you would start identifying and sorting potential birth team members during the second trimester of your pregnancy. It provides a lot of time to hold meetings, check compatibility, and develop understanding.
- What if I have a change of heart about a team member later in my pregnancy?It’s perfectly okay to change things around if somebody no longer seems to be the right fit. Your comfort, trust and emotional safety matter most at every point of pregnancy.