“Please download a copy of my book Honoring Birth to learn more about the joy of creation, birth and parenting. It’s a quick and beautiful read! I hope you are inspired by it.” —Jo Anne Lindberg
Jo Anne Lindberg, president and founder of BirthLink, would like you to do the research needed to help determine where and with whom to give birth. There is a lot of conflicting information on the internet. While you can use it as a tool she also suggests that you speak to people who have used midwives. Birth and postpartum doulas can help. Interview as many different kinds of midwives as you can. Please read the information below to start the planning process.
Just thinking of considering having a child is parenting. After conception the impending birth becomes more real. Determining where and with whom to give birth are parenting decisions. Making these decisions together, as a couple, is an opportunity to begin bonding. Taking the time to plan will help with the many decisions you will be making. This will help reduce stress and give better outcomes. Enjoy the process and your baby if you are currently pregnant.
Who you choose as a primary care practitioner and where you give birth will have a significant impact on your experience. Don’t let your insurance dictate your choices. There are many factors that influence what kind of birth you will have. Interviewing, before you choose, a midwife can make a big difference if you know what questions to ask. Create a list to take with you.
The following outline will guide you through the planning process. Our goal is for parents to have a happier, healthier birth experience. With c-section rates at 30% nationally, and some hospitals much higher, this is just one reason why parents need to educate themselves. Most of the answers to your questions, related to the topics below, can be found on the other pages of the BirthLink web site. Please keep reading below for more suggestions.
Benefits for Parents Who Do informed Planning
- Make Informed Decisions
- Preconception planning
- Gain awareness regarding your beliefs about the birth process and how they may impact your choices
- Become an informed consumer regarding birth choices
- Understand the significance of birth
- Save time researching options
- Educate yourself regarding physician and midwifery care
- Discover ways to enhance your birth experience no matter where you choose to give birth
- Investigate the benefits of various birthing locations including hospital, birth center, alternative birth center and home
- Create a supportive birth team
- Lay the groundwork for cooperative parenting
- Answers to your specific questions
- Increase Confidence
- Increase the likelihood that your birth will be a positive life changing experience
- Personal referrals based on your specific needs
- Establish trusting relationships with practitioners
- Seeking a more satisfying birth experience
- Gain comfort in your decision making process
- Help avoiding a first c-section or seeking a vaginal birth after cesarean
- New to the Area
- Recently relocated
- From a foreign country
Benefits for Parents Who Do Informed Birth Planning
Please consider these topics for your research. You will know which ones you need to know more about.
- Birth beliefs and family history – potential impact?
- Who pays and how – insurance coverage vs self pay.
- Place of birth – culture of facility.
- Primary care providers – who can attend births in IL?
- Creating a birth team – additional providers.
- Childbirth education options – hospital vs private.
- Birth practices and procedures – What about the pain?
- Breastfeeding – a long-term relationship.
- Postpartum care – help for mom.
- Wonderful things for baby – consider some great options.
- Health care for baby – vaccination, pediatrician vs alternative.
- Self care for optimal birth and baby – body, mind & spirit.
- Personal referrals – you can change practitioners.
- More Resources
You may also bring a list of questions.
Parenting begins the moment you decide to conceive. Working together you begin the journey of bringing a new human into our world. Please check out Client Testimonials for more information. Click here to email us a quick question.
You might want to watch – The Business of Being Born – available from the internet. It has helped many parents to educate themselves about their birth options.
Jo Anne Lindberg in the News
Ms. Lindberg has been featured in articles about birth options and more from many publications. There was a newsletter for more than twenty years. For more recent articles you can visit the blog.
- Yoga Chicago: Giving Birth Mindfully by Jo Anne Lindberg (Jan/Feb 07)
- Mothering Magazine: Caretakers of Homebirth by Wendy Correa (May/June 2002)
- The Nikkei – The Japanese Wall Street Journal: Homebirth by Yoko Noge-Dean (April 7, 2002) 3 million subscribers world wide
- North Shore Magazine: They Deliver; A Guide to More Than 30 Home Services by Peter Gianopulos (February 2002)
- Chicago Social (CS): Breathe Easy by C.A. Killmaster (June 2001)
- Chicago Parent’s Chicago Baby: The Age-Old Art of Doulas by Pamela Hays (Fall 2001)
- WebMD™ Medical News: Bringing Out Baby. . . At Home by Laurie Barclay (June 2001)
- Parent’s Concern Newsletter: Emulsion on Paper by Hannah Maximova (July 2000)
- Midwifery Today: Building a Better Birth Community by Betsy Schwartz (Winter 2000 Number 56)
- Expectant Mother’s Guide to Chicago: Beyond the Birth Plan by Jo Anne Lindberg (1999 – 2000 Number 21)
- American Whole Health Inc. Newsletter: Our Journey Into Parenthood by Jo Anne Lindberg (Fall 1999)
- Conscious Choice: Pampered Pregnancies; Top Holistic Health Treatments for Chicago’s Expectant Mothers by Darlene E. Paris (September 1999)
- Expectant Mother’s Guide to Chicago: The Doula – A Wonderful Gift by Jo Anne Lindberg (1998 – 1999 Number 29)