when to start making plans?

bongii

hi everyone! i'm a first time mom-to-be in my first trimester (haven't even been to the OB yet). i'm very interested in going as naturally as possible through most of this process. when do you recommend starting to look for midwives and making birthing plans?

oliversmommy32912

Congrats on the pregnancy!

I started looking interviewing midwifes/clinics at 6 weeks. You probably won't actually see the midwife until sometime between 8 to 12 weeks but you can at least get a feel for the midwife/clinic.

I don't think it is ever too early in the pregnancy to start exploring your options.  As far as making an actual birth plan you will probably want to wait until the beginning of the third trimester. However, I would start looking at birth plans now to get a feel for what you want and research, research, research! The more you research the better informed you will be and you will feel more confident in the decisions you make regarding your body and your baby.

 Good luck! 

HppyMommaOfOne

 Completely Agree! I read and researched everything, but didn't actually put one together until my third tri. I came in with a pretty simple birth plan and ended up deviating on some little things, and that's ok :-) Good luck!

 

oliversmommy32912:

Congrats on the pregnancy!

I started looking interviewing midwifes/clinics at 6 weeks. You probably won't actually see the midwife until sometime between 8 to 12 weeks but you can at least get a feel for the midwife/clinic.

I don't think it is ever too early in the pregnancy to start exploring your options.  As far as making an actual birth plan you will probably want to wait until the beginning of the third trimester. However, I would start looking at birth plans now to get a feel for what you want and research, research, research! The more you research the better informed you will be and you will feel more confident in the decisions you make regarding your body and your baby.

 Good luck! 

Nechie122

The person you pick to deliver your baby may be one of the most important decisions of your whole "birth plan." I say start ASAP. If you decide to use a midwife, your first appointment should be with her rather than an OB. Depending on where you live, midwives may have limited ability around your due date so book NOW.

The second decision you need to make now is where you want to deliver. Choose a care provider affiliated with your hospital or birthing center of choice so you don't need to change later.

As for other things in your birth plan? You have more time. It'll probably be a continual conversation with your midwife as your pregnancy progresses but you probably won't need to have it written out until sometime in the middle of your third trimester.

irishsweetheart83

i would recommend as soon as possible, also you may want to look into a good child birth class such as bradley or birth works. bradley method is a 12 week class so it does some good to get your place saved early.

my first child was a typical hospital birth, pitocin, epidural, episiotomy ect...with my 3 other children i did the bradley method with much success!

congrats on becoming a mommy! 

bongii

thank you for the responses, i'll get right on everything!

bongii

what is the bradley method (feel free to just tell me to google it if you don't want to explain haha) and what do you think was the biggest difference between natural and hospital birth?