PATIENCE

When we prepare for parenthood, we can be overwhelmed by the many responsibilities and requirements coming our way.  But that preparation is enhanced by facing pregnancy and labor.  In dealing with the many changes and demands of pregnancy, we are starting to learn how to make decisions with the baby as first priority.  For first time parents, there is a wonderful training ground that pregnancy provides.  And one of the important lessons is patience.

There can be many goals and dreams we develope in the first 8 months of the pregnancy as to how we want the labor to go.  And then those last weeks or days seem to just drag by.  Each minute becomes an hour watching for labor signs.  Life seems to stop until that big event unfolds and we find that patience is now running out.  All those great plans of letting labor happen when the baby is ready can be changed in an instant with a simple suggestion - induction. (Now, of course, I'm talking about induction for non-medical issues.)

I have seen expectant moms receive multiple calls from their physicians offering that "they are on call that day and there is a bed available at the hospital for them" and the temptation to just get labor over seems great  but they have been firm in their determination to have patience.  And the very next day labor begins and quickly a baby is in their arms.  Would their trust in their own bodies have been as richly rewarded if they had succumbed to induction?

There is the issue of patience in labor. When those first contractions start, the big question is "Now when do we head to the hospital?"  It is very difficult for a family to determine the right time to go even though moms are equipped with such a great instinct as to the best time.  Those who had said they wanted to stay home as long as possible, find that quickly they are puzzled with how that will happen.  (In those instances, having a birth doula can really help!)

And why is patience such a great lesson?  How patient do you have to be to establish breastfeeding?  How patient do you have to be when your baby's schedule of sleep differs from your routine?  How patient do you have to be when your baby is teething, learning to hold objects but dropping everything quickly, and even later, learning to tie their shoes?  Patience is vital to a parent and it begins in pregnancy.  When we view pregnancy and labor as a wonderful training ground, it can add so much to our own qualities as a parent. So take a breath, let go a little, and relish the peaceful quality of patience!