If you’re an expectant mother, it’s only natural you have questions and concerns, maybe even some worries and fears, as your due date approaches.

Each pregnancy is unique, so even if this delivery won’t be your first, there’s likely a lot you want to know so you can make sure you and your newborn come home from the hospital as healthily and happily as possible.

I’ve been an OB/GYN for more than four decades. Even now, I’m still awed and amazed by childbirth.

But like you, I’m aware it doesn’t always go according to plan.

There are risks — risks posed by the mother’s health… by ill-advised inductions and C-sections… by delivery’s physical and psychological aftermath.

Unfortunately, today’s badly fragmented, corporate-controlled healthcare system doesn’t do nearly as much as it could or SHOULD to help mothers like you - and, for that matter, your concerned partners and family members - understand or prepare to MANAGE these risks.

Too many doctors treat pregnant women like problems, not people.

They don’t take the time to listen to your story, hear out your concerns, or thoroughly answer your questions.

They don’t know how to work WITH nature, so they’re too quick to induce labor or order a C-section — both of which carry significant risks.

And even practitioners with the best of intentions are at the mercy of insurance companies’ hurry-up, in-and-out delivery model — as though successful births are products on an assembly line!

I don’t mean to scare you, but did you know the U.S. is the only developed nation where the maternal mortality rate has RISEN over the last 30 years?

Our hospitals are woefully unprepared for delivery complications, and our doctors often lack the training and experience to capably deal with labor room emergencies.

You owe it to yourself - AND to your baby - to be as fully informed as you possibly can.

And in my online course, I’ll give you accurate, trustworthy information you need to play an active, knowledgeable role in your and your baby’s care before, during, and after delivery. 

I’ve made delivering healthy babies from healthy mothers my mission in life.

During my career, I’ve delivered more than 6,000 babies without the single death of a mother, without any maternal strokes, and without any babies born with cerebral palsy.

But what I HAVE encountered, too many times, is boarded OB/GYNs doing things I KNOW aren’t good for you or your child.

Obstetrics involves actively looking for things that can cause problems during pregnancy and childbirth, and doing what can be done to prevent them. It’s about carefully observing, listening, and attending to patients over the course of their pregnancies. 

That kind of proactive, closely attentive care is the model of pregnancy and delivery I advocate and practice, and it’s what I’ll introduce you to in my online course.

The information you’ll discover will help you make well-informed, fully engaged decisions, and will put YOU back in charge of your delivery experience.

• You’ll find out what’s normal and what’s not during pregnancy, so you’ll be aware of any “red flags” you should address if you see them.
• You’ll discover how the health choices you make now can affect your birthing experience — for example, how controlling your hypertension can lower your risk of pre-eclampsia.
• You’ll find out how you can avoid premature birth, giving your baby all the time he or she needs to make a healthy entrance into the world.
• You’ll understand the risks of C-sections, and the consequences to both you and your child of various kinds of induced labor — as well as how you can avoid these procedures.
• And you’ll start preparing a positive homecoming from the hospital, lowering your risk of postpartum depression and psychosis.

Experienced OB/GYNs know this information, but their patients generally don’t. Doesn’t that seem backward to you? After all, YOU’RE the one having a baby!

Your safety and your baby’s safety may well depend upon your knowing what I’ll share with you in my course.

Take your first step toward a more informed, less fearful, more confident and even JOYFUL pregnancy and delivery!

Ellen Smith