That's not the most important one, but somehow it's the first thing I thought of. If you're having a hospital birth, I think the most important thing is to constantly advocate for yourself. If I hadn't asked a question about going home when they first tried to induce me, then I suspect my delivery would have gone much differently with an on-call doctor I didn't trust, when my body just wasn't ready for it. Because I advocated for my own wishes, my doctor allowed me to have a few more days, which, I think, very likely made the difference between me having a healthy vaginal birth vs. having a much more prolonged and difficult labor possibly followed by a C-section.
Also, make sure you meet with the hospital's lactation specialist as early as possible. A lot of our nurses gave bad advice, which is especially unwelcome at midnight when you're dealing with a crying newborn. It wasn't until the day after our birth that we were able to meet with the specialist and our baby really latched on for a full feeding.

- Ashley, Ocean Beach.