First time parents usually experience some anxiety as the due date approaches. This is completely normal.

Some common concerns include:

Life-Style Changes
Will I still have a life after the baby arrives? Late nights out on the town, sleeping in and spontaneous weekend getaways may decline, especially if mom is breastfeeding, but anything is doable with advanced planning. The extent to which life-styles are altered depends on the personal preferences of mom, dad and baby.

Many, Many Decisions
Having a new baby will require making an overwhelming number of decisions, many of which can be discussed prior to the baby's arrival. These decisions may include the baby's name, whether or not to breastfeed, whether or not to circumcise, cloth or disposable diapers and whether additional help (grandparents, other relatives or a baby nurse) will be needed when the baby is brought home.

Returning to Work
This decision usually involves significant quantities of guilt and confusion, however,the best advice is to keep your options open. Some women are bored with a month at home and wish to return to work. Others can't imagine leaving their new baby for a day. Still others are happy with neither full time work nor full time mothering and have the luxury of doing both part-time.

Take comfort in knowing that parenting is a learned skill and after a month or so you too will be pros!