Parenting
If you are pregnant and have chosen to become a parent, it is important to receive prenatal care to help make sure that you have a healthy pregnancy. There are many ways to increase your chances of having a healthy baby:
- develop or maintain healthy eating habits
- stay active
- get plenty of sleep
- limit caffeine intake
- don’t use, or reduce your usage of cigarettes, alcohol or drugs.
- check with you doctor before you take over-the-counter drugs or prescription medications
You may also want to find an obstetrician, create a birth plan, and decide whether you want to have a midwife or a doula. Prenatal classes provide information about how to take care of yourself and your baby while you are pregnant. These classes often include topics such as nutrition, childbirth, breastfeeding, and caring for your baby.
What do I need to consider about being a parent?
There are many styles of parenting, all with similar goals:
- raising children to respect themselves and others
- equipping children with the tools to deal with any difficulties that arise
- helping children to be happy, healthy and successful.
Parenting is an incredibly important job which has rewards as well as challenges. Being open to new ideas and finding information helps parents to validate and/or adjust their parenting style. There are many resources about parenting, ranging from parenting styles to disciplinary approaches. You can find ideas and support for parenting through:
- talking with other parents
- counseling
- reading parenting books and pamphlets
- visiting reliable parenting websites
Parenting requires patience, love and energy, and is a job that can be frustrating and tiring. You need to make sure that you are taking care of yourself as well as taking care of your child. Parents are not expected to be perfect and may benefit from accepting their mistakes as learning opportunities.
Here are a few examples of things you might look forward to as a parent:
- Spending time with and playing your child.
- Sense of achievement
- Watching your child laugh and experience joy
- Valuing companionship with your child
- Becoming a better communicators
- Learning about yourself through parenting
Can I do it alone?
If you are parenting without a partner, you may find this to be challenging but also very exciting. Finding and using as much support as possible can relieve some of the pressures of being a sole support parent (commonly referred to as single parenting). You can ask family and friends for emotional support, as well as support with child care, grocery shopping, etc. One of the many benefits of sole support parenting is that you do not have to compromise any of your beliefs and can raise the child however you would like to.
How do we parent together?
If you are parenting with a partner, you will want to understand each others’ expectations. You may want to consider family or couple counseling if you are having a hard time adjusting to a new baby, or even before the baby is born. Parenting can bring great joy to couples but can also strain the relationship. It is important to take care of the relationship by spending time together, talking to each other, and relaxing together. Many couples enjoy getting a babysitter and going on dates to re-kindle their relationship. See our page about sex during and after pregnancy.
Planning ahead
Having a child brings new responsibilities. It is important to explore various options related to having a child including:
- maternity leave eligibility
- parental leave eligibility if you have a partner
- child care options in your area if you plan on returning to work and when to start child care
- family and friends ability to provide support
- government programs and bursaries to assist new parents
- parenting support groups, some of which are designed for young parents, single parents, GLBTQI parents, new immigrant parents, etc.