My hospital gave a questionaire that you filled out. However, not even having a plan was the best thing in my mind. Yes there were a few things that I wanted, but honestly I really just wanted what was best for me and the babies. I think if you can go into the whole experience with an open mind you will less likely to be disappointed. From what I know from my mom friends, it rarely goes as planned.
STM here as well. I didn't bring a birth plan to the hospital although I have known others that have. I tried to read as much as possible about the process to make informed decisions. The hospital I gave birth at already had a lot of the things that were important to me as standard operating procedure- not pushing c-sections (and indeed, I labored for 50 hours and it was never brought up to me), skin to skin, delayed clamping, etc. I was a "wait and see" type of person for pain meds and they helped me get through that long labor personally, even though it took 3 tries for the epidural to work. I didn't want to be induced but it became medically necessary when low fluids were discovered at my perinatal office. In the end, after touring the hospital and asking questions, I didn't feel like there was anything I really needed to specify since I agreed with most of their practices.
For baby #2, I don't think I will write one again unless my new OB thinks I should. I am giving birth at a different hospital which I have already toured. I don't think I would change anything although I am even more weary about being induced- but if you can't avoid it, then you can't avoid it (I also had gestational diabetes, so it was likely imminent). I am fairly certain that being hooked up to induction meds for 2+ days and laboring for so long contributed to my postpartum hemorrhage which was scary and traumatic.
Re: Birth plan
For baby #2, I don't think I will write one again unless my new OB thinks I should. I am giving birth at a different hospital which I have already toured. I don't think I would change anything although I am even more weary about being induced- but if you can't avoid it, then you can't avoid it (I also had gestational diabetes, so it was likely imminent). I am fairly certain that being hooked up to induction meds for 2+ days and laboring for so long contributed to my postpartum hemorrhage which was scary and traumatic.