Pregnancy

Throughout your pregnancy, your health care professional will recommend specific tests and procedures to ensure a healthy pregnancy.

• Urine test, blood pressure and weight checks

• Blood tests

• Ultrasounds

• Prenatal genetic screening

• Glucose screening

• Group B streptococcus

Having more than one baby may be scary, but it does not have to be. There are some simple things you can do to keep you and your babies healthy:

• The best thing you can do is take care of yourself. The healthier you are, the healthier your babies will be.

• Woman with a multiple pregnancy might be scheduled for more frequent appointments with her obstetrician/gynecologist. Learn more about multiple pregnancy.

After your babies are born, you may feel overwhelmed and tired. You may wonder how you're going to do it all. This is normal. Most new moms feel this way at one time or another. The first days, weeks, and months are often the most difficult for parents of multiples, as everyone learns to get used to the frequent feedings, lack of sleep, and little personal time involved in parenting multiples. Learn more about breastfeeding twins and supports you may need.

Here are some things you can do to ease the stress:

• Ask your family and friends for help

• Rest as often as you can

• Join a support group for moms with multiples. This is a great place to share your concerns and hear how other moms cope with the demands of raising multiples.

• If you feel sad or depressed for more than 2 weeks, call your health-care provider

If you think you may be pregnant, you may feel happy, sad, worried, or just confused. You are not alone. Every year many women in B.C. experience unplanned pregnancies.

If you are pregnant and not sure if this is the right time to have a baby, find out more.

Sadly, sometimes pregnancy ends in a loss. It is normal to feel confused and unsure of yourself for many days, weeks and months after the loss of your baby. You need care and understanding from everybody around you.

To get support, it might help to talk about your feelings with trusted friends and family members. Support from others can be helpful as you cope with your loss. If you do not feel those around you can give you the support you need, you may wish to find someone less affected by your loss. You could contact a support group, a professional counsellor, your family doctor or midwife, or a public health nurse who can help you.

For more information:

• Healthlink BC: Miscarriage

• Healthy Families BC

• Pregnancy Loss

• Still Life in Canada

• Share: Pregnancy and Infant Loss Support

Looking to the future

In the future, you might want to get pregnant again. You may have unresolved feelings and fears of losing the pregnancy again. This is normal.

Future pregnancies may be emotionally difficult. If you allow yourself time to grieve your loss now, you might find your worries easier to cope with during your next pregnancy. If you have any questions, contact your doctor or midwife.

In B.C., a doctor or a midwife can provide health care for you during your pregnancy, birth and afterwards.

You may also want to have a doula on your health care team. Doulas work closely with doctors and midwives to provide support to families.

Midwives

Midwives are licensed health care professionals who are trained to deliver babies and provide medical care from early pregnancy, through labour and birth, until about six weeks after your baby is born.

Midwives are funded as part of the B.C. health care system, much like a family doctor.

Services provided by midwives include:

• Support during pregnancy, labour and birth, whether normal or complicated

• Delivery of babies (hospital or home birth)

• Ordering and interpreting tests and discussing results

• Provide screening for health issues

• Home visits after the baby is born

• Help with breastfeeding and adjusting to life with a new baby

For more information on midwives and to find a registered midwife near you, visit the Midwives Association of BC’s website.

Doulas

A doula is someone who provides physical and emotional support to women and their families before, during and after childbirth. Doulas work as a part of a health care team, with a midwife or doctor and nurse. Doulas do not perform clinical or medical care and are not trained to deliver babies. Doulas are not licensed health care professionals and are not funded as part of the health care system; services are paid for by the mother/family.

Doulas:

• Provide support, comfort and education for families

• Work with your health care team to help create a positive birth experience at home or in the hospital

• Help with newborn care, family adjustment; may include meal preparation, and light household chores

• Provide information on feeding, emotional and physical recovery from childbirth, soothing, and coping skills for new parents

• Provide appropriate referrals when necessary

For more information on doulas and to find a doula near you, visit the Doula Services Association of BC’s website.

The Doulas for Aboriginal Families Grant Program (DAFGP) provides grants to increase access to full spectrum doula services for Indigenous families residing in BC (on and off reserve).