Before the birth, the midwife's primary responsibility is to make sure that the client is having a healthy pregnancy. And one of the ways that we do that is we focus a lot on prenatal nutrition. So we make sure that our mothers are taking a great prenatal vitamin, ideally something that's whole food-based; that she's getting a vast array of fruits and vegetables that are fresh, ideally organic; that if she's eating animal products that she's getting hormone-, antibiotic-free ones; and we make sure that she's getting enough protein. Most of the prenatal complications that occur prior to birth have a lot to do with the nutrition a mom is getting -- so it's the most important thing she can do is take care of herself. Get good exercise, drink plenty of water, and, also, limit the amount of stress that she's under during the pregnancy period. When a woman is under stress, it really can create a lot of issues for the newborn. They say that the experience that the mother has during her pregnancy, emotionally, are the fluids that the baby is bathed in. so taking a moment each day to focus and get centered and connect with the baby is one of the most important things a mother can do during her pregnancy period.
We also spend quite a bit of time preparing our parents to be parents. It's a big step, and we want to make sure that they have all the information that they needs, so that when they go out into the world with their new child, they have some foundation that really has them feeling empowered and ready to take on this incredible role of being a new parent. We also prepare them for the birth process: we want to make sure that they know what they're going to get into, and what the experience is that they're about to have. So we really prepare them, we make sure that they attend classes on breastfeeding, baby care, what the actual birth process is going to be like, and how to best support themselves during the labor process. We also make sure that mother is having well-being experience during her pregnancy. We listen to the baby, we continuously check the mother's hemoglobin and make sure hematocrit levels are normal so that it's safe to have an out-of-hospital birth, and to ensure that she's got as strong blood and energy levels as possible.
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