On my birthday I wondered what my mother was thinking before she went into labor?

Had she taken any childbirth classes? (No.)
Was she informed on what was going to happen with her body? (No.)
Was she scared? (Yes!)
Was my Dad going to be with her during labor and birth? (No.)
Was she allowed to make her wishes known to her OB? (No.)
Was she put under for the birth? (Yes.)
Did she have help at home after the birth? (Yes, her mom.)
Was she planning to breastfeed? (Yes.)

These questions are as common as mosquitos in the woods. They were common when I was born and still are today. The answers above were the norm in my mom’s day. How lucky we are that today’s answers are different .
Today we have professional people such as doctors, midwives, hospital staff, and doulas who will listen to the needs and wants of the birthing moms. There are options!

There are options for inducing labor, options for pain relief, options for pushing, options for feeding your baby, whether it’s breastfeeding or bottle, placenta encapsulation or not, immunization options and the list goes on & on.

Comparing the answers to my moms birthing experience and todays birthing moms I want to think that today all of the “no” answers would be “yes.”