Help with Birth Plan?

lolasmit

I am supposed to have my birth plan for my 36 week appointment which is on March 25th. Uh, what am I supposed to have? 

These are the things I KNOW for sure I want (yes, I will keep an open mind in case meds are needed)

-Husband and mom during labor/delivery

-MIL allowed if she would like during labor/delivery (She is the manager of the dept, so I don't mind)

-One hour after baby is born only with husband and I (the hospital I am in does one hour for the baby to just bond with me and then husband can be with him as well, but husband can stay in the room)

-NO epidural or pitocin (unless baby is in harm's way and my labor NEEDS to be induced)

-Epidural only if asked

-I want to be able to walk around if I want to, and squat, and listen to my relaxing music

My MIL mentioned that I can use their medicine balls, the shower, and that they have a squatting thing if I need it. I am not sure how to add that to the birth plan? 

What else am I supposed to have there?

Sevilla

Here are the big things to ask about:

1. Eating/drinking during labor at your comfort

2.  Intermittent monitoring (do NOT get stuck in the bed with belts on you!  That is the kiss of death to a natural birth). 

3.  Stay out of the bed

4.  Utilize different positions

After delivery:

5.  Delay cord clamping at least 3 minutes or until it stops pulsing

mmks

The template on earthmamaangelbaby.com might be a good place to start for ideas. I liked some of them!

sschwege

What type of monitoring you prefer

Mother directed pushing?

IV/Saline Lock, nothing?

Limited Cervical Checks?

Blood Pressure Cuff (free of it between readings, etc)

I also had a separate c-section birth plan.  Thankfully I did not need it, but it gave me piece of mind.

I will admit I'm a minimalist when it comes to birth plans, so I don't think you need to mention what you want to have available to you or that you want freedom of movement, music, etc.  Make your birth partner aware of your wishes and they can request a birthing ball, get the shower ready for you etc.  And honestly I wouldn't be worried about discussing moving around or listening to music or even eating/drinking, if you want to do those things do them!  I would also condense your two bullets into one regarding an epi and pit.   As I said I like my birth plans short and sweet so they are more likely to be read and remembered, just my opinion

Eve_Angelique

I agree with @mmks - I looked at that website to get a good idea of other things to include. A slight variance was that I made mine say that I didn't want anyone to ask me if I wanted any meds at all. If it came to it I wanted it to be my idea. But I never needed anything.

barista411

The earthmamaangelbaby.com birth plan is rather extensive and almost too much info. It is a great place to start but a more concise birth plan is more likely to be read by the hospital staff. Have you checked with your MW/BC/hospital to see if they have a standard one? My MW provided one to fill out and there was an area where I could add additional info or leave notes. It was less than 2 pages and covered pretty everything I needed covered.

Here is the one provided by my MW:
https://www.obgyngroup.com/PDFs/Birth_Plan_The_Group_.pdf

undercoverst

What I love about mine is that it doesn't go into every single senario but give the staff a very clear idea of what we will choose. When I gave it to my OB she liked it a lot and called it "reasonable" which I think is a compliment coming from an OB. It was my doulas suggestion that we make it clear we want to be apart of convos and don't need to go into each decision.

Here it is in case you're interested.

Sarah and Rob’s Birth Preferences
Major players: Mom: Sarah | Dad: Rob | Doula: Kelly | Baby girl: Orabelle
Awesome OB’s: Dr.

​Our goal is to have an unmedicated, natural birth and make all decisions with that in mind.

At admission:
• During cervical checks Sarah would prefer to not to know the number. Rob and Kelly will happily know that and inform her if she decides later she wants to know.
• Sarah would also like to only have a saline lock and is ready to hydrate herself through labor.

During Labor:
• We wish to be involved in the conversation. In most cases we will choose the least amount of interventions possible or try and find an alternative to a medicated intervention. We understand the need for these conversations we just want to be apart of them.
• Sarah wishes to make use of breathing, massage, counter pressure, changing positions, walking, laboring in the shower and on the birth ball. She would love any encouragement and would love to be given the time to let nature take it’s course.
• She will also be using some “hippy” language. Like calling contractions surges or waves and referring to pain as sensations. Feel free to join in if you want.

Note: Sarah does have a very irregular heartbeat but has been seen regularly by a cardiologist. We have a note from Dr. ##### stating that she sees no need for continuous monitoring nor an antibiotic before birth. If you would like to see the Doctors note at any time please ask Rob or Kelly for it.

After Birth:
• We would like to take advantage of the helpful practice of letting the cord stop pulsing before it is clamped.
• We look forward to the Golden Hour that Scrips is known for and Rob plans on taking part of the precious time with skin to skin contact with Orabelle as well. (If Sarah let’s go!)
• Our awesome doula Kelly will be encapsulating the placenta.
• We will be declining the use of Erythromycin or other salve for baby’s eyes to allow optimal sight for bonding. We will be happy to sign a waiver. (Neither Rob nor Sarah has ever had an STD.)

Thank you so much for being a part of the birth of our little one! Thank you for your support and hard work!

sheislisamarie

I'm giving birth at a birth center, so my birth plan is focused on giving the hospital staff in case of a transfer insight into our goals and what we'd like / not like. The things I focused on were:

In a non-emergency situation:

• Being given the right to refuse medications or treatments if we don't want it
• Asked for a thorough explanation of all treatments and tests: what the test is, why you are suggesting it, and what are the risks of not administering said test or treatment / are their other options?

In an emergency situation:

• Asked that they take the least invasive route for every procedure and to discuss procedures with us BEFORE proceeding if at all possible

Everybody else covered most of the things I wrote for my "personal wish list," but I think one thing we have listed that nobody else specifically suggested was to not be separated from baby AT ALL unless it is an emergency situation. 

lolasmit

Thank you so much! I appreciate this a lot. 

F47

I would ask about the policy for intermittent monitoring. The hospital where I delivered allowed intermittent monitoring, but you had to be in the bed for that 20 minutes. It SUCKED. My nurse was awesome and tried to hook me up to the belts while I sat on my exercise ball, but she couldn't get the right positioning and it was back to the bed with me...

sschwege

F47 said:

I would ask about the policy for intermittent monitoring. The hospital where I delivered allowed intermittent monitoring, but you had to be in the bed for that 20 minutes. It SUCKED. My nurse was awesome and tried to hook me up to the belts while I sat on my exercise ball, but she couldn't get the right positioning and it was back to the bed with me...

That is a really good point!  At the hospital I had delivered at it had changed in the two years between when I had my first and then second.  It went from intermittent meaning every 15 min a quick check with the doppler to intermittent meaning every 2 hours you had to do 20 min on the continuous monitor, which meant being in bed or at least next to the bed.  I was glad I learned that ahead of time because then I was able to plan ahead.