Okay so this information it's quite as important as other things you'll learn in a childbirth ed class, but I do think there is power in being comfortable in your surroundings so I wanted to share this three (IG-edited) photos with you.

These are the machines that are doing your drips if you've got pitocin or an epidural (or both!)

If you haven't spent much time in the hospital then you might not be very familiar with the beds. Birthers only have the foot and recline option on their side, so birth partners are the ones for responsible for lowering and raising the bed as needed. Do not use them sparingly.. Make sure you're always comfortable!

And this is the toco monitor at the nurse's desk in your room.
I just want to make sure you have an idea of what everything is, but PLEASE do your best to not watch this during birth. It's not helpful, it doesn't create oxytocin, and (in my personal/professional opinion) all eyes/hearts/energy should be on the birther! 

*I do not own this photo* but it shows the monitors really well. If you consent to continuous fetal monitoring (whether wireless or not) you'll have two 'tocos' (tocodynamometers) on your belly; top is for measuring contractions and the bottom is measuring baby's heart rate.

**It's important to note that the contraction monitor isn't really measuring 'intensity' but rather 'tensity'. When you have a contraction, the belly tightens against the monitor and the number goes 'up'. The number on the screen has absolutely nothing to do with the strength or effectiveness of the contractions, but the graph will show how often the contractions are happening which can be helpful information.