Planning for Your Child and Your Work Life

Pregnancy is the time to prepare yourself and your family for the arrival of a new person. If you have other children, you will want to prepare them for their new sibling. You may also want to find friends and family to support you when you first come home from the hospital. In most places in Canada, a woman and her child now leave the hospital one or two days after the birth. If possible, have someone stay with you for the first week, and try to arrange for people to be nearby in the first three weeks. For some women, too much attention can be a problem. Here are a few tips for keeping visits manageable and helpful.

In addition to taking care of yourself, you will also want to prepare for your baby. You may want to do some shopping. You will also need to choose a doctor for your child.

Choosing Your Child's Doctor

Ask whether you will be able to reach your child's doctor by phone when needed.

A newborn should see a doctor within the first three to five days after the birth, so it is important to choose a physician in advance.

If you chose a family doctor to care for you while you were in labour, you may wish to have this same doctor care for your child. Having one doctor who becomes familiar with all of the members of your family is one advantage of choosing a family doctor. Other parents choose to take their child to a pediatrician. A pediatrician has more specific training in childhood health.

If you do not already have someone in mind, ask for a recommendation from someone that you trust, like a close friend, your caregiver or the instructor at your prenatal class. Ask yourself:

	Is the doctor's office easy to get to from your home or work? Is it conveniently located for babysitters?
	Is parking available or is it easy to get to by public transit?
	How difficult is it to get the doctor on the phone?
	When is the office open and how long do you usually have to wait?
	What sort of help is available after hours?
	Is the office friendly for both parents and children?
	If my child becomes ill, at what hospital does this doctor have admitting privileges?

Some women interview a few doctors. If you use this method, use a few questions to determine if you have similar ideas about how to care for your child. If you are concerned about the use (or over-use) of antibiotics, for example, you might want to ask the doctor how he or she decides when to use antibiotics. If you would want to have your baby boy circumcized, you might also ask if this doctor performs the procedure.

Planning for your Child and your Work Life

You need to start thinking about when, or if, you will return to your present job when the baby is born. The Canadian government offers benefits to help cover your expenses during pregnancy and parental leave. Ask yourself:

	Will you wish to use all of this time or even more?
	Will your partner also want to use some of the funds available for parental leave?
	When you return to work, how will your schedule need to change?
	Will you need a job that is more flexible?
	Could you afford to be a stay-at-home mom for a while and would you want to?
	What kind of childcare will you arrange when it is time for you to return to work?

Although you don't need to make all of these decisions now, you and your partner do need to start talking about how the baby will influence your work lives.

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