Why you should write a plan to convey your wishes for labor and delivery and everything you need to include in a simple birth plan.
Why You Should Write A Birth Plan
During your pregnancy you will have no doubt had a lot of thought about how you want your labor and delivery to go. Writing down all of your requirements and wishes for the the birth of your baby will help to guide how things will go and ensure your wishes are clear to your healthcare professionals.
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Creating a simple birth plan will clearly communicate your needs for labor and delivery as well as for after the birth to all involved. This will result in a better experience for you, reduce disappointment and unrealistic expectations, and take away the chance of any communication issues with healthcare providers.
When writing your preferences for the birth you should take into account what is practical and available to you. It is important to understand that your birth plan can not be set in stone as your situation may change during labor and some of your preferences may not be possible.
You are also entitled to change your mind during the labor, for instance you may decide that you do require pain relief when you had initially opted for a natural birth.
A simple birth plan does not need to cover everything tiny little detail, it’s perfectly fine just to cover the basics. here is a list of what you should be including.
What To Include In Your Simple Birth Plan
The Basics
Where
You need to state where you would like to give birth. If you wish to you can look into the possibility of giving birth at home as well as doing research on local hospitals and birthing centers. You can also include any preferences you have about lighting and any music you want to be played.
Who
Who do you want to be present at the birth? Will it just be your partner or is there someone else you would like to attend? It may be worthwhile finding out how many people will be allowed in with you in your chosen hospital or birthing center. You can also state exactly what you require from your birthing partner and if there is anything special you would like them to do for you.
What
What kind of birth would you like to have? Do you require the use of a birthing pool? Are there any birthing positions you would like help with and is there any special equipment you want to use? You will need to find out from your hospital or birthing center if the equipment will be available to you or if you need to take it with you.
Interventions
Inducing
State how you feel about having your labor induced and having your membranes ruptured.
Monitoring
You need to state if you wish to have fetal monitoring during the labor. You also need to state information about the monitoring you will need. How you feel about internal and external examinations.
Episiotomy
How do you feel about having an episiotomy? State any preferences you have about this.
Assisted Delivery
You should think about your feeling on having forceps or vacuum extraction. State the circumstances and the timings you would consider having these interventions.
C-Section
The same can be said for a c-section delivery and how you feel about this. Again, you should state the circumstances and timings for this.
During Labor
Moving Around
Will you be wanting to move around during labor? How much and how far will you be wanting to move?
Bathing
Think about whether you will require the use of a bath or shower during labor. look into whether these things can be made available to you.
Food and Drink
Will you require food and drink during your labor? Find out from your hospital or birthing center exactly what you are allowed to take in with you.
Pain Relief
Medical
Look into the methods of pain relief available to you as there are a few to choose from. Think about which of these would be best for you and clearly state this on your birth plan.
Natural
You must state if you wish to have a natural birth and if there are any alternatives to medication that you wish to use. You can also state if you may be open to medication at any point during your labor if things don’t go to plan.
After The Birth
The Cord
Think about your preferences regarding the cord. Who do you wish to cut it and do you want the cord blood to be banked? You can also state your feelings on delayed cord clamping if you wish to do so.
Contact
Do you wish to have skin on skin contact with your baby? How soon will you and your birthing partner have contact?
Feeding
Do you wish to bottle feed or breastfeed? You also need to state where you wish to feed your baby for the first time and how soon after the birth it will occur.
Visitors
You should state if you would like visitors after the birth. If you do you should list the people that you wish to visit you.
Using this as a guideline your simple birth plan should be easy to write so you can clearly express your wishes for labor and delivery.
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