She explained that it is just a way of communicating with the midwives and doctors who will care for you in labour. It tells them about the type of labour you would like to have, what you want to happen and what you definitely want to avoid.
However one needs to remember to be flexible when it comes to a birth plan as things don't always go according to plan.
I am not so sure about my feelings on this topic. I am very much still on the fence here. I for one feel the Midwives and Doctors know what they are doing - I am not the Doctor and I just want my baby boy to be born the best way possible for him. They had none of these things in the old days and I sometimes sit back and think...What happened to just having a baby, why all the complications?!
With that being said we wrote one anyway, just for peace of mind.
Here are some tips on what to consider when writing your Birth plan as well as a sample plan.
Type of birth
- Natural or C-section
- Who would you like present with you?
- Would you like your birth partner with you at all times?
- Do you want to be mobile for as long as possible or do you want to just stay in bed?
- Do you want to give birth laying on the bed or would you prefer to be kneeling or squatting?
- Would you object to having your baby's hear rate monitored continuously or would you prefer to be as mobile as possible during labour?
- Do you want an episiotomy or would you prefer to avoid it?
- Do you have a preference when it comes to forceps or ventouse?
- What sort of pain relief would you prefer?
- In which order would you like to try the different pain relief methods? E.g. Gas before epidural?
- Which methods would you want to avoid, if any?
- Would you or your partner want to cut your baby's umbilical cord.
- Would you want to wait for the cord to stop oulsating before clamping and cutting
- Would you like your partner to stay with you at all times or must your partner stay with the baby if the baby has any complications.
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| Sample Birth plan |
