Birth Plan?

LupeVallejo

How soon are you supposed to start a birth plan? ...It seems like there is SO much to think about, it could take YEARS to figure it all out... and I only have 6 months!

When will you/did you start your birth plan? 

smorzandoj

Not going to make one.  IMO you can plan all you want but until it happens you won't really know what you need.  You can 'want' all kinds of things but that doesn't mean it is best for you or the baby.  That being said it is important to understand everything that could happen from med-free to medicated to csection because like I said you never know.

womancake

I'm starting to research it now.  Looking at other people's plans, really thinking about what is most important to us and where we're willing to compromise, etc.  I'm going to see a new midwife next week, and have heard she is really supportive of birth plans, so I'll ask her when I should have it put together.  But I don't think it's too early at all to start thinking about it and researching.

LupeVallejo

smorzandoj:

Not going to make one.  IMO you can plan all you want but until it happens you won't really know what you need.  You can 'want' all kinds of things but that doesn't mean it is best for you or the baby.  That being said it is important to understand everything that could happen from med-free to medicated to csection because like I said you never know.

 You would have completely convinced me, but by nature, I'm a walking planner.  I plan, and realize that things don't always 'go to plan' but for some reason it gives me a piece of mind.... but you seriously almost convinced me for like .5 seconds. haha... thanks so much for your input! 

OUKap

Not doing one.

Treasa

Being a planner by nature, I think they are a good thing! 

But don't do what I did with my first birth.  I went in with a 3 page, extremely detailed & very rigid plan.  Well I didn't plan on pre-e/HELLPS syndrome & ended up with a c-sec under general anesthetic.  Basically I got nothing I requested & felt utterly dissapointed, even a bit foolish & utterly naive.

This time I am planning for a VBAC but am going to go in with a more open mind.  I am not saying I won't do a plan again but if I do it will be less rigid & detailed!

hisaak

I am also a planner by nature, but after losing several pregnanies, my birth plan became quite simple:

Bring home a live baby

Do it as naturally as possible - I outlined what I most wanted, but said that health of myself and the baby were paramount

Have minimal interventions (again, open to whatever needed to be done)

Skin to skin and breastfeeding within the first hour if possible

Didn't take long to come up with (did in the last couple months) and covered everything that mattered most to us.  It allowed for the flexibility we needed to adapt as things changed during labour, and we got everything we most wanted!

backinpgh

I'm going to have something outlining my wishes, such as wanting to breastfeed, not wanting epidural pressed on me, etc. I think it's more important to outline things you want that are unusual compared to most births they experience at your hospital/birthing center. For example, some hospitals will start pushing an epi on you the second you walk in. I don't want that. Some will whisk the baby away and assume you're going to formula feed. I don't want that either.

My plan won't be so much for how I want the birth itself to go; I don't want to set myself up for disappointment if something goes wrong. BUT I do want to make certain things clear, i.e. I don't want someone bothering me about "Are you suuuure you don't want the epi? It's sooo much easier!" the whole time I'm there.

We also want to donate the cord blood, so that's something I would include in the plan in case I'm too out of it to remind them.

I also watched a show where the woman said the nurse came in, injected something into her IV and started to walk away. When she asked what it was, she said it was pitocin, which she had never been made aware of, consented to, or explained the risks of, and due to her own research she had not wanted it but it was already too late. I'm hoping my instructions could help prevent something like that.

womancake

backinpgh:

I'm going to have something outlining my wishes, such as wanting to breastfeed, not wanting epidural pressed on me, etc. I think it's more important to outline things you want that are unusual compared to most births they experience at your hospital/birthing center. For example, some hospitals will start pushing an epi on you the second you walk in. I don't want that. Some will whisk the baby away and assume you're going to formula feed. I don't want that either.

My plan won't be so much for how I want the birth itself to go; I don't want to set myself up for disappointment if something goes wrong. BUT I do want to make certain things clear, i.e. I don't want someone bothering me about "Are you suuuure you don't want the epi? It's sooo much easier!" the whole time I'm there.

We also want to donate the cord blood, so that's something I would include in the plan in case I'm too out of it to remind them.

I also watched a show where the woman said the nurse came in, injected something into her IV and started to walk away. When she asked what it was, she said it was pitocin, which she had never been made aware of, consented to, or explained the risks of, and due to her own research she had not wanted it but it was already too late. I'm hoping my instructions could help prevent something like that.

That's horrible, and possibly illegal--no informed consent?  I'm not a lawyer, so I don't know, but it doesn't seem like it would be legal to inject someone with something without their knowledge.  Grr...

Geekchick921

I did not make one at all for Sarah and I will for this baby, especially because I want to VBAC.  I urge you all to at least write down your preferences and/or plans for your labor your discussed with your doctor or midwife, who may not be the one that's managing your care when you're actually in labor, depending on their coverage arrangements.  The thing is, in the thick of labor, it is REALLY easy to forget things you may have talked about with your doctor beforehand.  I think anything longer than a page is crazy, and concise bullet points will probably be acknowledged more by the hospital staff as opposed to paragraphs. 

marriedfilingjointly

Geekchick921:

I did not make one at all for Sarah and I will for this baby, especially because I want to VBAC.  I urge you all to at least write down your preferences and/or plans for your labor your discussed with your doctor or midwife, who may not be the one that's managing your care when you're actually in labor, depending on their coverage arrangements.  The thing is, in the thick of labor, it is REALLY easy to forget things you may have talked about with your doctor beforehand.  I think anything longer than a page is crazy, and concise bullet points will probably be acknowledged more by the hospital staff as opposed to paragraphs. 

 

Yeah, that right there is my main concern.  I'm going to keep it brief and go over it with DH so that he can back me up.  I'm not going to work on it until I've started my Bradley Method class though, so I know what to expect.  

marriedtoeric

Our midwives want us to start working on ours about 20 weeks, and bring it in for review at any point during the 3rd tri, preferably before 36 weeks.  At 36 weeks they want it to be part of our file so we don't have to remember a copy when we come in to give birth.

camdenfaithful

I think as long as you recognize your birth plan has to be totally flexible and very well may be tossed out the window, there's no harm in thinking about it now!

DH and I have already started discussing certain things we definitely do or definitely don't want while I'm in labor and soon after birth.  There's nothing wrong with having a preference in how you'd like things to go and being informed as to what is going on around you.