Have a (Birth) Plan!

As a Doula, I provide two prenatal visits for couples throughout the last few months of pregnancy.  One visit is to plan the birth and the second is used to discuss all things postpartum once baby arrives.  I believe both topics are of great and equal importance in preparing for the two major life events they are about to experience.  I spend a good hour or two at each visit helping couples navigate the many decisions and options available to them.  

If you are expecting, I would strongly encourage you to learn as much as you can about the birth process through childbirth education classes.  You cannot formulate a birth plan if you do not understand what your options are.  You also need to ask a lot of questions when you tour your place of birth.  Here are just a few things you'll need to inquire about in order to create your birth plan.  This list is limited but gives you an idea:

• Labor environment ( Can you wear your own clothes, have dim lighting, use aromatherapy?)
• Mobility in labor (Will you be allowed to move freely, walk, use birth tools like a ball?)
• Hydration and Nourishment (Can you eat and drink in labor?  Is this allowed?)
• Monitoring (Do you have to be monitored continuously or will they monitor you and baby intermittently?)
• Pain relief options (You'll need to know all medical and non-medical options available to you in your place of birth and the support you will receive, especially if you do not have a doula.)
• Medical interventions (What is your provider's protocol if you go past your estimated due date, and how are interventions in labor decided?)
• Birth and baby care (Will your place of birth facilitate skin-to-skin with baby? Do you want to delay cord clamping?)
• Cesarean (Can the drape be lowered, will you have a hand free, can you do skin-to-skin in the operating room with baby?)

Again, this is not an exhaustive list, but all my clients are taken through a questionnaire to help them plan out their ideal birth.  I then compile their wishes into a one-page printout that they can edit and then go over with their provider.  That plan is also given to the nursing staff once my client arrives to their place of birth.  It's really wonderful to see how so many moms that I serve be asked  if they have a birth plan and then see those wishes respectfully carried out by nursing staff because they were clear about them from the beginning.  This is ideal.

Having said that, we know not everything always goes according to plan, but having it in writing absolutely gives the provider and nurses a very solid idea of what you do and don't want.  Things like, "Please do not ask me if I want pain medication" take the guesswork out of a situation where mom may be struggling through labor.  The nurses know she will ask for help when or if she reaches that point.   


~Happi

Note:  I provide birth planning sessions and private, in-home childbirth education classes.  Contact me if you are interested in learning more about your options.  This can be a scary time full of many unknowns.  I'm glad to answer all of your questions!
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