Questions to ask during pregnancy and with a new baby

What can you help with around feeding, and where do you stop?

Doula training covers positioning and basic troubleshooting, not diagnosis of tongue tie or supply problems. A candid answer names the limit and the lactation consultant they refer to.

From: Questions to Ask a Potential Doula

What would the whole protocol involve, week by week, including monitoring visits?

Injections, early morning scans and a procedure with sedation have to fit around work and travel. Ask how many visits fall in the first two weeks and how much notice you get for the timed ones.

From: Questions to Ask at a Fertility Consultation

Who is here overnight, and what is the staffing at three in the morning?

Most births do not happen during office hours. Find out how many clinicians are on site at night, how long a second one takes to arrive, and whether anyone is ever alone with a labouring person.

From: Questions to Ask a Birth Center

Have you been pregnant before, and how did those pregnancies go?

Clinics generally require a prior uncomplicated pregnancy, so this is partly verification. The useful detail is in the specifics: how she felt, how long she worked, whether there was preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, a long labour, a caesarean. Vague answers about her own medical history are worth following up on with her records rather than in conversation.

From: Questions to Ask a Surrogate

If I need to give extra milk, how much, using what, and how do I protect supply?

Supplementing is a specific instruction with an amount, a method and a plan to reduce it, not a yes or no. Ask what would let you cut it back and how you will know when that point has arrived.

From: Questions to Ask Lactation Consultant

How do they cope with being left alone, and for how long?

Ask what has actually been tried rather than what they expect. A puppy who has never been alone for ten minutes will not manage four hours in week one, and this is the issue most likely to affect your working life.

From: Questions to Ask When Adopting a Puppy