Some people say, “there is no guide book to parenting” so you have to make it up as you go along. I say it’s just the opposite. There are plenty of expert guide books on every topic imaginable. Each book suggests a different approach to parenting. My advice? Gather information where you please and make the best decisions for your family as a family. What I mean is pick the “experts” that will help you learn more about a specific topic. Seek out your mom, your friend, your partner, the book written by an expert in the field, a scientific study, your family doctor. All of these people will create for you a pool of information, sometimes conflicting, sometimes redundant. It is then up to you and your family to make sense of it and make a decision. For some families, it will mean picking a particular birthing location. For others, it will mean saying yes or no to cry-it-out sleep training. In any regard, it is important to make decisions as parents - together. Examples of the FIRST decisions to be made as parents:
All of these parenting decisions (and many more to come) are difficult and require lots of consideration. As a doula, I facilitate these first parenting decisions by offering tools & education.My job is to create a situation where parents gain the confidence to make their own decisions. I educate and guide them through the process of labour so that their first parenting decisions can be supported wholeheartedly. It is important that parents learn to create open lines of communication early on so that when tougher parenting decisions arise, they are prepared. Ask me any questions that you might have about pregnancy, birth, postpartum, and parenting and I will be sure to find you some information.
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