The term of your pregnancy falls around December 25? Don’t panic, midwife Anh-Chi Ton shares her advice so that your birth goes smoothly, even during the holidays.
Giving birth is always an emotional time, but if your due date falls around the holiday season, stress can quickly take over. What if baby decided to be a surprise guest on Christmas or New Year’s Day? In this case, many questions arise: will your gynecologist be able to be present on the big day, and the anesthetist? Will the hospital be as well equipped as normal?
To begin, tell yourself that spending Christmas or New Year’s Day in the maternity ward may seem sad, but it’s for a wonderful reason: the birth of your baby. Your loved ones will take advantage of public holidays to come see you, and the midwives will be there to cheer you up. If you have other children, explain to them that the arrival of their little brother or sister could disrupt the holidays, but that they will receive the best gift of all. This moment, full of magic, will remain engraved in the memory of the whole family.
If you are stressed about giving birth at the end of the year, know that, contrary to what one might think, “during the holiday season, even on December 25, there is always continuity of care and a medical team available,” explains Anh-Chi Ton, a liberal midwife. In each maternity ward, whether in a hospital or clinic, an on-call system is set up. An obstetrician, a midwife, a pediatrician and an anesthesiologist are generally always present for deliveries. So you will never be alone in the maternity ward. As for the doctor, it’s difficult to know in advance who will take care of you. “At the public hospital, you never know who you will run into, whereas in the clinic, patients are followed by a specific doctor. If the practitioner is absent, there will always be his or her partner to take over,” comments the specialist.
Another scenario that we don’t always think about, if you have to join your family for the holidays, always take your medical file with you, as well as its ultrasounds, blood test results, etc., just in case, if you have to give birth in a hospital far from home. “Above all, do not take the risk of traveling if you feel contractions or if your cervix is changed. From 37 weeks, I do not advise traveling while pregnant,” underlines Anh-Chi Ton. And if labor starts, too bad for the New Year’s Eve meal, you have to go to the emergency room quickly and everything will be fine!
