Pregnancy - General discussion on getting pregnant and being pregnant

[Claude Sigma]

After almost two years of struggles and unfortunate events, I dig up this thread.
My wife is pregnant and we will have a child soon. I learned about and managed as well as I could with getting pregnant and what to do during pregnancy, but I have yet to learn what I need about giving birth and the immediate aftermath.

I would like protips, things you realize you should have done only after giving birth once, etc.
What should be done to ensure the highest probability of a healthy birth and child? I already know to try to avoid caesarians, but I don't know if there are things to do to increase the probability of a natural birth, if there is a use to triggering the birth medically at a specific week to have the child not be too big, if there are medical procedures to do to the mother or the child that should be done or not done, etc.

I heard passing comments about doing stretchings during the last trimester to avoid perivaginal tears during birth, birthing more upright and not lying down, letting the cord blanche before cutting, avoiding the heel blood draw some hospitals do to the child, but I don't know if there's anything of value in that.

 

[VitaminDsupplements]

What is it with Taco Bell anyway? I seem to recall my mom saying she had that quite a bit when she had me and even after that that was her and my sister's go to place for the longest time.

I honestly think it might be the constipation relief.

Also congrats, OP! You can do whatever you want but at the end of the day that baby js gonna come out the way they want. More often than not, in the birth stories I've read none of them stick to the plan perfectly.

Multiple multiple women, OBs and midwives have shared how important pelvic stretching is.