Many of us will grow to become parents. The moment we know we are to walk the same road as our parents, we get flashbacks of our childhood, don’t we?

We start to reflect on what has happened to get us to this part of life. We look at the good and bad days the happy and sad days. We measure these days based on how those days affected us. And then the many questions arise, based on what we feel about being a parent. Then we make statements or affirmations of what we will and will not do that we experienced in our childhood. For some of us, we see our parent’s in a different light.

The world that we live in today is called the ‘Information Age’. Information is the currency of the day. One of the most common and useful tools today in managing information is your common desktop computer. Just about every household has one.

Every computer has a basic configuration (make-up, design) built into it, which helps it to receive information, process it and act upon that information. Or else it would be useless (having no beneficial use; purposeless).

Later on, to help you with whatever specific task you are doing you might acquire additional programs, like a word processor, to help the computer to further carry out more involved functions. But the main point is that your computer already has the basic ability to process information.

No one likes being caught unprepared for an event or situation. We would all like to know what we have to do or where we have to go before so that we can prepare in an appropriate manner. That is why it is good to be prepared.

Knowing when labour actually begins is difficult. What, however, is so awesome about our body is that it gives signals, it indicates different symptoms to let us know when things may be starting OR that our body is preparing itself for the hard work.

Regardless of how many children we have, the signs are still the same. They may not come in a particular order, but they are there.  When they present themselves, we are able to determine what to do next. Without having the indicators how would we know, how would we be able to prepare? Isn’t it a blessing that we can be forewarned about the initiation of labour?

In the last edition we touched on the subject of preparation for Childbirth and getting out of your pregnancy what you put in. 

This does not only apply to the mother but to the father as well. After all, both were involved in the process of conception.

Most men may not actually voice this sentiment aloud but it is a reality for them that they do wonder and at times agonise over what exactly their role should be in this dawning of a new reality in their lives.Oh yes, they want to have a child with their partner. Yet there seems to be a gulf or a missing link in connecting with this ‘new reality’ in their lives.

Questions start arising, such as: “When does Fatherhood start?” “How do I make the transition to being a Dad?” “What should I be doing?” “Am I actually ready for this?” It certainly is a new frontier.