September 2, 2025 • 9 mins
Delivering about 3,000 babies a year, the team at MetroHealth provides individualized care for each mother and baby to start life with the healthiest possible outcome. In today’s episode, we will speak with Amy Lowell, Advanced Practice Registered Nurse and Certified Nurse Midwife (APRN-CNM) and discuss what expecting mothers can do throughout their pregnancy journey to prepare for the healthy arrival of their new baby.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey, everybody, it's row back with another episode of Mommy Virtue,
brought to you by Metro Health and listen. Delivering about
three thousand babies a year, the team at Metro Health
provides individualized care for each mother and baby to start
life with the healthiest possible outcome. And then today we're
gonna be talking about preparing for your baby's arrival with
Amy Lowell. She is a practice an advanced practice registered
(00:24):
nurse and certified nurse midwife here at Metro Health. All right,
so I have a child. I have a seven year old,
so I know all about the whole preparing for a
baby thing. But I think a lot of times when
you speak about preparing for a baby, a lot of
people tend to think about, oh, the baby's room and
then like the baby shower and stuff like that. But
it really happens right when you find out you're pregnant, right, correct,
(00:45):
So what should some moms do? What are the initial
steps that they should take and preparing once they find
out they're pregnant.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
Okay, Well, once you find out that you're pregnant, you
should establish with a prenatal provider and that you have
a few choices. So Many women choose to go with
a traditional OBGI n that is, a physician who's been
trained through medical school and is also a surgeon. Some
women choose to go a little bit more natural holistic
(01:12):
to choose a certified nurse midwife such as myself. We
are nurses who have extra training and know how to
take care of women throughout their lifespan, but specifically pregnancy.
And then the other option is to go with the
family practice physician, so that is someone who could take
care of both you and your baby.
Speaker 1 (01:30):
Got you, I can I throw one in there just
because I know it's a word that I'm familiar with.
Speaker 2 (01:33):
A doula is.
Speaker 1 (01:35):
That an option too?
Speaker 2 (01:36):
So a doula is a very important part of a
women's team, but is not a provider of the care.
So it comes in to assist with support, emotional support
and physical support specifically for the labor and sometimes doulas
spend time with the family prenatally just to get to
know them, make sure it's a good fit and then
also postpartum, but they're not delivering the prenatal.
Speaker 1 (01:57):
Care absolutely okay. Now, with regards to what foods and
or supplements should expecting mother's take or avoid. Additionally, are
there any exercises that you would recommend or not recommend? Sure?
Speaker 2 (02:09):
Okay, So first when we talk about nutrition prior to conceiving,
we want to make sure that you're taking a prenatal vitamin,
mostly for the folic acid that helps reduce the risk
of birth effects in the neural tube or the spine.
But really good health habits. I think most of us
know what's healthy. It's hard, but you want to make
sure you're eating a lot of lean proteins, fruits and vegetables,
(02:30):
drinking lots of water, and try to get rid of
any bad habits like access processed food, soda, things of
that nature.
Speaker 1 (02:38):
Limit sugars, yeah, absolutely, and of course the biggies, no
drinking and stuff.
Speaker 2 (02:42):
Well, yeah, snow drinking. Please, if you're a smoker, try
to curtail that before. But just cutting back is really important.
And then as far as exercise, if you are someone
who already exercises prior continue, we don't want you to
do anything that we think will have a chance of
having any trauma to the bellies. If you like to
(03:03):
bungee jump or surf or snowski, those are probably not
great things to do, but if you're someone who likes
to use a stationary bike or lift weights, even running
is fine as long as you use the support of
bra Those are good things to do. It's not the
time to start training for a marathon, though.
Speaker 1 (03:18):
Yeah, and I kind of want to put a little
bit more emphasis on that. I'm in the gym all
the time, and I see pregnant women in there, and
there are a few who are doing like hard cardio,
like hit almost and that's something that obviously they probably
got okayed with their doctor.
Speaker 2 (03:35):
Prior to Yes, it's important to monitor your heart rate.
We don't recommend getting your heart rate above one fifty,
so that's something that you do have to monitor. Of course,
you want to keep yourself hydrated. When we are pregnant,
we tend to get dehydrated a lot quicker and that's
going to make you feel not great, headaches, cramping, so
that's something to also be mindfaelt like running in August
(03:57):
outside probably not a great idea. Walking on a treadmill
or even jogging down a tremill indoors totally fine.
Speaker 1 (04:02):
In addition to their health care provider, what are some
other resources that are there for mothers to prepare for
the arrival of their baby.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
Sure, so they need to start thinking about more on
the second half of the pregnancy, finding a pediatrician. So
as our care providers, we take care of moms, but
once the baby's born, then they need their own provider. Now,
at the beginning of this conversation we talk about family practice,
they can take care of the babies as well, so
that would be like an easy transition. But if you're
seeing a midwife or an obgi N, you're going to
(04:30):
have to find a pre pediatrician. So I usually recommend
in the third trimester women to go seek that care
out because the baby needs to see the pediatrician, usually
within a day or two after discharge. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (04:42):
Absolutely, And then of course, like you have to have
your car seat and stuff like that too.
Speaker 2 (04:47):
Yep. So there's a few other things that you need
taking baby home. One actually, really what you need is
car seat and clothing the hospital has. They will supply
you with diapers, metro subsplies you with papers. Hopefully you'll
consider breastfeeding, but if you choose to bottle feed, there's
formula and the items that you would need to bring
(05:09):
to the hospital for yourself, like toiletries, but we have
gowns and socks and all the things that you would need.
Speaker 1 (05:15):
Absolutely. What are some of the things you'd recommend expecting
mothers do before they give birth.
Speaker 2 (05:20):
Before they get a very good support system around you.
It's really hard before you become a mom to understand
how tiring it is and how emotional and physical it is.
So you want to make sure that there's people around
you to help you take care of the other things
so you can focus on the baby. I always say
to my patience, your job is to feed the baby.
(05:41):
Let other people cook, clean, come over and hold the
baby while you take a nap. Those first six weeks,
especially our twenty four hours, your baby does not sleep
more than an hour and a half to two hours
at a time.
Speaker 1 (05:52):
All about it. Okay, So in preparing for your baby,
a lot of times, some others can kind of like
prepare because they have like a day that they know
that they're going to deliver their baby. But sometimes it's
one of those situations where like it happens and it's
either before or after you're expected to do days, so
you're like you're frantic and there's a lot going on.
A way that you can prepare is having your baby
bag like your hospital bag. Ready, what do you recommend
(06:14):
being in that hospital bag for mothers?
Speaker 2 (06:16):
Yes, well I just mentioned toilet trees, so kind of
think about your going away for a long weekend, right
the things you would need toilet trees, cell phones, cell
phone charger, the list of people that you need to
help help out. As far as clothes, I say, keep
it simple. You know, whatever you wear into the hospital
you can wear out. Some people want to wear their
own cute pajamas, but remember labor is kind of you know,
(06:39):
there's fluids around, so if you don't want to do
extra laundry, I would just leave it and borrow the
hospitals nice okay, And then of course you need an
outfit for the baby to go home in a hat. Babies,
even if you deliver in the summer, they lose heat
through their head, so you want to bring a hat
and a blanket and then have their your car seat installed.
Local fire departments will install it safely for you so
you don't have to worry about them.
Speaker 1 (07:00):
Yeah, that was something I learned before I gave birth,
and I think that's such an awesome resource to have
because a lot of times you think Okay, I'll just
follow into directions. But yeah, I think the professionals do. Yeah,
you know, so you know, it's all the way good
now that you know. So if you aren't expecting, mom,
go ahead and have that bag packed. Like now, there's
nothing wrong with.
Speaker 2 (07:16):
Getting There's nothing wrong with it, you know, I just
have it ready.
Speaker 1 (07:19):
So that way for it's a situation where you're like,
oh my god, it's happening and you weren't really prepared,
and you can just have your bag all the way ready,
you know.
Speaker 2 (07:26):
And remember, if you don't have it, you're gonna labor
a little bit at home too. So if it makes
you feel more, you know, in control, to have a
packed grape, but don't panic if you don't.
Speaker 1 (07:35):
Absolutely What should expecting mothers do before bringing their baby home?
Speaker 2 (07:41):
Oh, I would say in terms of the house, like
getting that ready. Yeah, so you want to find a
safe place for the baby to sleep. Usually in the
first three to four months, because your baby is getting
up so much at night, families choose to have their
babies sleep in the room with them. That would be
a bascinet or pack and play or even a crib.
(08:02):
We do recommend that the baby does not sleep in
bed with the parents. We know that that increases the
risk of sudden infant death syndrome. So getting a small
bassinet or a co sleepers is the safest thing for them. Absolutely. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (08:17):
What if, like they have animals, what would you recommend
for them preparing?
Speaker 2 (08:21):
Yeah, so what I would recommend is, especially if someone
can bring home to the like for dogs and cats,
whatever the baby's been wearing, like the onesie in the hospital,
so that they can be prepared for that scent. And
most animals are pretty good about kind of just saying
get in the situation that but a lot of times
(08:42):
we see them like sleeping under the cribs and things
like that. But yes, taking something a blanket to get
the scent of the baby so that they understand that
they're not going to be the only ones anymore.
Speaker 1 (08:53):
Yeah. Absolutely, the first time master of pregnancy is always
the most important to your baby's development. Contact your health
care provider to start care right away, or to find
a Metro Health woman's healthcare provider near you called two
one six seven seven eight forty four forty four, and
to learn more, visit metrohealth dot org. Slash obg y
n
Hey, everybody, it's row back with another episode of Mommy Virtue,
brought to you by Metro Health and listen. Delivering about
three thousand babies a year, the team at Metro Health
provides individualized care for each mother and baby to start
life with the healthiest possible outcome. And then today we're
gonna be talking about preparing for your baby's arrival with
Amy Lowell. She is a practice an advanced practice registered
(00:24):
nurse and certified nurse midwife here at Metro Health. All right,
so I have a child. I have a seven year old,
so I know all about the whole preparing for a
baby thing. But I think a lot of times when
you speak about preparing for a baby, a lot of
people tend to think about, oh, the baby's room and
then like the baby shower and stuff like that. But
it really happens right when you find out you're pregnant, right, correct,
(00:45):
So what should some moms do? What are the initial
steps that they should take and preparing once they find
out they're pregnant.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
Okay, Well, once you find out that you're pregnant, you
should establish with a prenatal provider and that you have
a few choices. So Many women choose to go with
a traditional OBGI n that is, a physician who's been
trained through medical school and is also a surgeon. Some
women choose to go a little bit more natural holistic
(01:12):
to choose a certified nurse midwife such as myself. We
are nurses who have extra training and know how to
take care of women throughout their lifespan, but specifically pregnancy.
And then the other option is to go with the
family practice physician, so that is someone who could take
care of both you and your baby.
Speaker 1 (01:30):
Got you, I can I throw one in there just
because I know it's a word that I'm familiar with.
Speaker 2 (01:33):
A doula is.
Speaker 1 (01:35):
That an option too?
Speaker 2 (01:36):
So a doula is a very important part of a
women's team, but is not a provider of the care.
So it comes in to assist with support, emotional support
and physical support specifically for the labor and sometimes doulas
spend time with the family prenatally just to get to
know them, make sure it's a good fit and then
also postpartum, but they're not delivering the prenatal.
Speaker 1 (01:57):
Care absolutely okay. Now, with regards to what foods and
or supplements should expecting mother's take or avoid. Additionally, are
there any exercises that you would recommend or not recommend? Sure?
Speaker 2 (02:09):
Okay, So first when we talk about nutrition prior to conceiving,
we want to make sure that you're taking a prenatal vitamin,
mostly for the folic acid that helps reduce the risk
of birth effects in the neural tube or the spine.
But really good health habits. I think most of us
know what's healthy. It's hard, but you want to make
sure you're eating a lot of lean proteins, fruits and vegetables,
(02:30):
drinking lots of water, and try to get rid of
any bad habits like access processed food, soda, things of
that nature.
Speaker 1 (02:38):
Limit sugars, yeah, absolutely, and of course the biggies, no
drinking and stuff.
Speaker 2 (02:42):
Well, yeah, snow drinking. Please, if you're a smoker, try
to curtail that before. But just cutting back is really important.
And then as far as exercise, if you are someone
who already exercises prior continue, we don't want you to
do anything that we think will have a chance of
having any trauma to the bellies. If you like to
(03:03):
bungee jump or surf or snowski, those are probably not
great things to do, but if you're someone who likes
to use a stationary bike or lift weights, even running
is fine as long as you use the support of
bra Those are good things to do. It's not the
time to start training for a marathon, though.
Speaker 1 (03:18):
Yeah, and I kind of want to put a little
bit more emphasis on that. I'm in the gym all
the time, and I see pregnant women in there, and
there are a few who are doing like hard cardio,
like hit almost and that's something that obviously they probably
got okayed with their doctor.
Speaker 2 (03:35):
Prior to Yes, it's important to monitor your heart rate.
We don't recommend getting your heart rate above one fifty,
so that's something that you do have to monitor. Of course,
you want to keep yourself hydrated. When we are pregnant,
we tend to get dehydrated a lot quicker and that's
going to make you feel not great, headaches, cramping, so
that's something to also be mindfaelt like running in August
(03:57):
outside probably not a great idea. Walking on a treadmill
or even jogging down a tremill indoors totally fine.
Speaker 1 (04:02):
In addition to their health care provider, what are some
other resources that are there for mothers to prepare for
the arrival of their baby.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
Sure, so they need to start thinking about more on
the second half of the pregnancy, finding a pediatrician. So
as our care providers, we take care of moms, but
once the baby's born, then they need their own provider. Now,
at the beginning of this conversation we talk about family practice,
they can take care of the babies as well, so
that would be like an easy transition. But if you're
seeing a midwife or an obgi N, you're going to
(04:30):
have to find a pre pediatrician. So I usually recommend
in the third trimester women to go seek that care
out because the baby needs to see the pediatrician, usually
within a day or two after discharge. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (04:42):
Absolutely, And then of course, like you have to have
your car seat and stuff like that too.
Speaker 2 (04:47):
Yep. So there's a few other things that you need
taking baby home. One actually, really what you need is
car seat and clothing the hospital has. They will supply
you with diapers, metro subsplies you with papers. Hopefully you'll
consider breastfeeding, but if you choose to bottle feed, there's
formula and the items that you would need to bring
(05:09):
to the hospital for yourself, like toiletries, but we have
gowns and socks and all the things that you would need.
Speaker 1 (05:15):
Absolutely. What are some of the things you'd recommend expecting
mothers do before they give birth.
Speaker 2 (05:20):
Before they get a very good support system around you.
It's really hard before you become a mom to understand
how tiring it is and how emotional and physical it is.
So you want to make sure that there's people around
you to help you take care of the other things
so you can focus on the baby. I always say
to my patience, your job is to feed the baby.
(05:41):
Let other people cook, clean, come over and hold the
baby while you take a nap. Those first six weeks,
especially our twenty four hours, your baby does not sleep
more than an hour and a half to two hours
at a time.
Speaker 1 (05:52):
All about it. Okay, So in preparing for your baby,
a lot of times, some others can kind of like
prepare because they have like a day that they know
that they're going to deliver their baby. But sometimes it's
one of those situations where like it happens and it's
either before or after you're expected to do days, so
you're like you're frantic and there's a lot going on.
A way that you can prepare is having your baby
bag like your hospital bag. Ready, what do you recommend
(06:14):
being in that hospital bag for mothers?
Speaker 2 (06:16):
Yes, well I just mentioned toilet trees, so kind of
think about your going away for a long weekend, right
the things you would need toilet trees, cell phones, cell
phone charger, the list of people that you need to
help help out. As far as clothes, I say, keep
it simple. You know, whatever you wear into the hospital
you can wear out. Some people want to wear their
own cute pajamas, but remember labor is kind of you know,
(06:39):
there's fluids around, so if you don't want to do
extra laundry, I would just leave it and borrow the
hospitals nice okay, And then of course you need an
outfit for the baby to go home in a hat. Babies,
even if you deliver in the summer, they lose heat
through their head, so you want to bring a hat
and a blanket and then have their your car seat installed.
Local fire departments will install it safely for you so
you don't have to worry about them.
Speaker 1 (07:00):
Yeah, that was something I learned before I gave birth,
and I think that's such an awesome resource to have
because a lot of times you think Okay, I'll just
follow into directions. But yeah, I think the professionals do. Yeah,
you know, so you know, it's all the way good
now that you know. So if you aren't expecting, mom,
go ahead and have that bag packed. Like now, there's
nothing wrong with.
Speaker 2 (07:16):
Getting There's nothing wrong with it, you know, I just
have it ready.
Speaker 1 (07:19):
So that way for it's a situation where you're like,
oh my god, it's happening and you weren't really prepared,
and you can just have your bag all the way ready,
you know.
Speaker 2 (07:26):
And remember, if you don't have it, you're gonna labor
a little bit at home too. So if it makes
you feel more, you know, in control, to have a
packed grape, but don't panic if you don't.
Speaker 1 (07:35):
Absolutely What should expecting mothers do before bringing their baby home?
Speaker 2 (07:41):
Oh, I would say in terms of the house, like
getting that ready. Yeah, so you want to find a
safe place for the baby to sleep. Usually in the
first three to four months, because your baby is getting
up so much at night, families choose to have their
babies sleep in the room with them. That would be
a bascinet or pack and play or even a crib.
(08:02):
We do recommend that the baby does not sleep in
bed with the parents. We know that that increases the
risk of sudden infant death syndrome. So getting a small
bassinet or a co sleepers is the safest thing for them. Absolutely. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (08:17):
What if, like they have animals, what would you recommend
for them preparing?
Speaker 2 (08:21):
Yeah, so what I would recommend is, especially if someone
can bring home to the like for dogs and cats,
whatever the baby's been wearing, like the onesie in the hospital,
so that they can be prepared for that scent. And
most animals are pretty good about kind of just saying
get in the situation that but a lot of times
(08:42):
we see them like sleeping under the cribs and things
like that. But yes, taking something a blanket to get
the scent of the baby so that they understand that
they're not going to be the only ones anymore.
Speaker 1 (08:53):
Yeah. Absolutely, the first time master of pregnancy is always
the most important to your baby's development. Contact your health
care provider to start care right away, or to find
a Metro Health woman's healthcare provider near you called two
one six seven seven eight forty four forty four, and
to learn more, visit metrohealth dot org. Slash obg y
n
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