Birth Plan question...

Sparks in training!

Happy Hump day!

Was looking at the BP and there are things mentioned i have NO IDEA about.... Wanted to ask you ladies ..

1. Cutting Umbilical Cord- Option to cut right away or wait unti it STOPS PULSATING. WTH? I didnt know it pulsated?!  What benefit for waiting?

2. Baby- immediately given to Me for Skin to skin contact- Is that before the eye drops and nose suction?

3. Option of eye drops/ ointment and heating lamp.-  is that to be done after baby tries to nurse?

Just a little lost....espeically with the whole Skin to Skin thing right after.... Is that literally Right after while he is still connected?

mjsweetgirl

Skin to skin is not really an option when it comes to post delivery. Its pretty much protocol. 

Just ask your dr about when they put the ointment in the baby's eyes. They usually already have a plan in action for every baby born.

And as for the rest of the birth plan. Throw it out the window. So many unplanned things happened when DS was born, that in the end all I wanted was for my baby to be healthy and safe. I had an emergency c-section after 20 hours of labor, it was stressful and ultimately it wasn't up to me or the birth plan how DS was getting out. Talk with your DH and ultimately as along as you two are on the same page, thats the person who gets your wishes known to the hospital staff if you aren't able to.  

llc730

I can at least answer #2. When they say immediately they mean it. They pulled DD out and placed her directly on my chest. Some people get a little squeamish because they do come out a little bloody/slimey but trust me. You won't care. Then while baby is laying on your chest they dry them off. After a few minutes they will take the baby and clean them up good, get measurements, do eye ointment, etc.

salsa_wifey

1. "Waiting until your newborn's umbilical cord stops pulsing before clamping allows them 15 - 20% more blood (aka strength and energy) from the placenta than they would receive if the cord were immediately clamped." ~ baby-gaga.com

I'm not sure about 2-3.  I kept my birth plan general.  I said I want to hold and breastfeed as soon as possible and keep all routine procedures until after I breastfeed.

?         I would like to breastfeed as soon as possible.  Delay all routine procedures until after breastfeeding.  Please do not feed baby by any other means.

salsa_wifey

mjsweetgirl:

And as for the rest of the birth plan. Throw it out the window. 

I disagree with this.  You should have a birth plan.  She is right that it may not go as planned or probably not exactly as planned but it's worth it to have a plan and have the doctors and nurses know what your ideal birth plan would be.

With my first, I was induced on the 25th and didn't have DS until the 27th and ended up with a c-section so mine didn't go as planned either but there were some things in there that were very helpful to have written down because when your in the moment and are exhausted you might not think very clearly.  I was glad I had one even though I never had to push.

KatFCo

1. There are two different schools of thought on this. The pulsing is the blood and nutrients from the placenta. The conventional research says cut it right away because baby could get too much. Others say wait until it stops pulsing to give the baby more nutrients and blood. It's likely your dr. will just do as s/he likes with this, no matter what's in your birth plan.

2. Immediate skin to skin can be messy--although sometimes they will give the baby a quick wipe before placing him on your chest. It can be very beneficial, especially if you want to try breastfeeding right away. It's a very good comforting and bonding tool (and your body will help warm him so heating lamps may not be necessary)

3. Again, this depends on whether or not you do skin to skin and try nursing immediately.

When it comes to things like that, it's helpful, even if you don't have a birth plan, to make sure you, DH and the dr are all on the same page, and DH may need to speak up if they start to take the baby away and remind them that you wanted to nurse immediately, or whatever you wanted.

Mamasaurus

mjsweetgirl:

Skin to skin is not really an option when it comes to post delivery. Its pretty much protocol. 

Just ask your dr about when they put the ointment in the baby's eyes. They usually already have a plan in action for every baby born.

And as for the rest of the birth plan. Throw it out the window. So many unplanned things happened when DS was born, that in the end all I wanted was for my baby to be healthy and safe. I had an emergency c-section after 20 hours of labor, it was stressful and ultimately it wasn't up to me or the birth plan how DS was getting out. Talk with your DH and ultimately as along as you two are on the same page, thats the person who gets your wishes known to the hospital staff if you aren't able to.  

I disagree. At the hospital where my nephew was born last year, they take the baby away to clean and weigh, first thing, unless you specify that you want otherwise. Another in my area places the baby into a bassinet type thing and puts him or her next to the mother, rather than having her hold him. As I understand, they say this is because many mothers are shaky after laboring and may not be able to hold the baby. I think it's to cover their @sses to avoid situations where the baby squirms while they are handing off from nurse to mother and the baby bonks its head on the bed rail or something, possibly prompting the parents to blame it on the nurse. It really does seem to depend on the hospital.

Also, I would NOT throw the birth plan out the window just because parts of it are out of your control! Some parts of it are especially important if you do end up having a c-section, particularly if you plan to BF. Having that skin to skin contact, and specifying that the baby not be given a bottle, can make the difference between a good start to BFing and having latch problems. Not that you cannot overcome those problems, but why would you want to deal with them if you can possibly avoid them?

In general, I think deciding to not plan because you don't have 100% control over an outcome is defeatist and is a good way to guarantee that you end up more disappointed than you had to be. I mean, I shopped for my car on the basis of safety ratings, and I don't say, "Well, what does it matter? If somebody hits me, I can't control what happens. Why bother planning as if I will be safe when it happens?" No, I won't be happy if I get rear-ended in traffic, but it happens sometimes, and if an airbag deployed when it was supposed to and spares me injury, I will be glad I did the research and planning. I won't say, "Well, now I have a rash on my face from this airbag. Why did I bother?"

Ivana_Stolichnaya

Sparks in training!:

Happy Hump day!

Was looking at the BP and there are things mentioned i have NO IDEA about.... Wanted to ask you ladies ..

1. Cutting Umbilical Cord- Option to cut right away or wait unti it STOPS PULSATING. WTH? I didnt know it pulsated?!  What benefit for waiting?

2. Baby- immediately given to Me for Skin to skin contact- Is that before the eye drops and nose suction?

3. Option of eye drops/ ointment and heating lamp.-  is that to be done after baby tries to nurse?

Just a little lost....espeically with the whole Skin to Skin thing right after.... Is that literally Right after while he is still connected?

 

My daughter was taken out and immediately placed on my chest.  At that point from what you see in the picture, I still have my gown on and there were blankets there but they were soon removed. My husband immediately planted a huge kiss on me. 

 

 

She may have had a little suctioning before she was completely out (I'm not sure though) but when she was on my chest, she also had a little more suctioning done because there is a lot of fluids that come gurgling out of their mouths and noses. They also have warm blankets ready to wipe off all the blood and goo. 

Over the next 24-48 hours, you're given a bulb syringe to help the baby clear out their mouth because they are still trying to get rid of excess fluids.  They tend to sneeze and cough and that's when you put the tip of the syringe on the inside of their cheek and suck out the fluid.  If you've seen pictures of friend's who have had babies, the pictures from the hospital where the baby is in the clear bassinet may have a green bulb syringe near their feet or head...this is why they keep it nearby.

Now if you're baby didn't tolerate labor well or came out blue and not breathing or crying, then they might skip your chest and rush them over to the warmer to try and get them going.

 The nurses pretty much just pulled my hospital gown down and said that I should try to nurse if I wanted to.  My daughter was probably less than 5 minutes old. 

As for the eye ointment, I can't remember when that was put in my daughter's eyes.  The whole birth experience is a whirlwind of things going on all around you.  It's like everything and everyone around you is in fast forward and you have tunnel vision of just staring at your new baby.  It's just the two of you for that moment...time stands still.  So it's sort of hard to remember how everything went and when it happened.

mrsadamc 05

Question 1: DD had the cord wrapped around her neck so it was cut as soon as she was out.  DH was going to do it but because of the wrapping he was not allowed to.  

Question 2:  She was placed on my chest as soon as the cord was cut.  She stayed there for a few minutes while they rubbed her down.  She was kind of blue but breathing on her own and after a short time they took her to the warmer to get her cleaned up.  

Question 3:  Because of the cord issue once they removed DD from my chest they used the warming lights/blankets and gave her the eye drops.  

 

Lina1030

Sparks in training!:

Happy Hump day!

Was looking at the BP and there are things mentioned i have NO IDEA about.... Wanted to ask you ladies ..

1. Cutting Umbilical Cord- Option to cut right away or wait unti it STOPS PULSATING. WTH? I didnt know it pulsated?!  What benefit for waiting?

THE LAST NUTRIENTS/BLOOD GOING FROM MOM TO BABY ARE VERY BENEFICIAL THAT THE BABY RECEIVES...WAIT 1-3 MIN MY OB DID THIS

2. Baby- immediately given to Me for Skin to skin contact- Is that before the eye drops and nose suction?

THEY WILL SUCTION HIM/HER IMMEDIATELY BUT DO NOT DO EYE DROPS YET (SEE NEXT ANSWER)

3. Option of eye drops/ ointment and heating lamp.-  is that to be done after baby tries to nurse?

ASK TO WAIT TO HAVE BABY NURSE AND BOND FOR OPTIMAL EYE CONTACT BEFORE DROPS ADMINISTERED.  MANY ALSO REFUSE THIS....MOSTLY GIVEN TO BABIES IN CASE MOM HAS STD'S.  IF THE BABY NEEDS WARMTH...PUT HIM/HER ON YOUR CHEST AND COVER WITH BLANKET UNLESS THE DR FEELS HE/SHE NEEDS MORE ATTENTION.  APGAR SCORE CAN BE DONE ON YOU.

Just a little lost....espeically with the whole Skin to Skin thing right after.... Is that literally Right after while he is still connected?

SKIN TO SKIN IS SOOOOOO IMPORTANT....IT IS RIGHT AFTER THE BABY COMES OUT...BABY IS ON YOUR CHEST CORD STOPS PULSING IS CUT AND STAYS ON YOUR CHEST THE WHOLE TIME

CJJ1016

KatFCo:

1. There are two different schools of thought on this. The pulsing is the blood and nutrients from the placenta. The conventional research says cut it right away because baby could get too much. Others say wait until it stops pulsing to give the baby more nutrients and blood. It's likely your dr. will just do as s/he likes with this, no matter what's in your birth plan.

Well that's a little scary isn't it? 

skibunny59

In my birth plan, I just put things in there that were super important to me.  I've noticied that the checklist type birth plan here on the bump is just way too long.

 I didn't put anything about the umbilical cord. (not all that important to me)

Skin-to-skin is something that is super important to me but my hospital does that anyway so I'm not sure if I'll put it in my plan.  My hospital gives you the baby immediately before eye drops or anything else and they do whatever they need to do while the baby is on your chest.  Find out what your hospital does with the skin to skin and then write in your birth plan what YOU would like to happen.

Lina1030

CJJ1016:

KatFCo:

1. There are two different schools of thought on this. The pulsing is the blood and nutrients from the placenta. The conventional research says cut it right away because baby could get too much. Others say wait until it stops pulsing to give the baby more nutrients and blood. It's likely your dr. will just do as s/he likes with this, no matter what's in your birth plan.

Well that's a little scary isn't it? 

Not my dr...my OB is awesome and respected everything on my birth plan

cdb48340

. Cutting Umbilical Cord- Option to cut right away or wait unti it STOPS PULSATING. WTH? I didnt know it pulsated?!  What benefit for waiting? Benefit of waiting is to give time for baby to get maximum amount of cord blood (stem cells), oxygen and nutrients that are in the umbilicual cord to transfer to the baby before it is cut.  I figure it cant hurt.

2. Baby- immediately given to Me for Skin to skin contact- Is that before the eye drops and nose suction? Yes, still connected you know since the cord is still pulsing.   The hospital where I'm planning to deliver say that during labor your chest and torso get very warm, so with immediate skin to skin contact it gives you and baby time to bond, and you will be warm so there wont be the need of the heat lamp.  They say very helpful if you plan to breastfeed, you bond, and baby more relaxed that if immediately taken from you to be cleaned, drops ect,   Often baby is freaked out and fold at that point which makes latching on for breastfeeding for the first time harder.

3. Option of eye drops/ ointment and heating lamp.-  is that to be done after baby tries to nurse? Up to you but because of #2 I'm planning to delay all until bonding and breastfeeding.

Just do what you feel comfortable with.

elainej

Lina1030:

CJJ1016:

KatFCo:

1. There are two different schools of thought on this. The pulsing is the blood and nutrients from the placenta. The conventional research says cut it right away because baby could get too much. Others say wait until it stops pulsing to give the baby more nutrients and blood. It's likely your dr. will just do as s/he likes with this, no matter what's in your birth plan.

Well that's a little scary isn't it? 

Not my dr...my OB is awesome and respected everything on my birth plan

Mine, too. After baby was placed on my chest for a minute or two, they informed us that the cord had stopped pulsating & asked my husband if he wanted to cut it.