For those of you that had a Birth Plan...

michelfrog · September 2009

For those of you that had a Birth Plan -

Who all did you give it to?

Did you find that they stuck to the Birth Plan?

What was most important or least important on the plan to you/them?

jeffrae · September 2009

honestly, throw it out the door. Nothing really went according to plan for me. The only thing we did tell them was to put baby skin to skin after birth.

fraggs24 · September 2009

the birth plan really is more for you and DH than for the staff. You can make a copy to give your dr, and have one in your bag, but not everything will go as you imagined. It is helpful for DH to refer to in the moments of crazy to remember what you wanted and try to make it as close to your plan as possible.

bensbabe · September 2009

fraggs24:
the birth plan really is more for you and DH than for the staff. You can make a copy to give your dr, and have one in your bag, but not everything will go as you imagined. It is helpful for DH to refer to in the moments of crazy to remember what you wanted and try to make it as close to your plan as possible.

I really didn't want to post my opinion on this, but you summed it up great.

Too many people rely on "direction" from the plans, and don't stop to realize that the staff has been trained to deal with situations as they arise. If you ever find that a nurse is being a PIA, just ASK why you aren't able to do something. I give a quick run-down of the L&D process, what to expect, and what we may do for emergencies. Sometimes, if moms are too uptight about scary situations or interventions we do when problems might arise, I might gloss over it with a "if we tell you to do something, we mean right then, ASAP, and I will explain everything as best I can as we go."

Patients & their support get too caught up in the plan & stress about what has to be done/what's not being done. They forget to enjoy the moments, and focus on the important things.

I think it's great to have a reference--for you & DH, but remember that things change. Your views of labor & delivery will change, and circumstances will alter how you may want something. It's basically inevitable.

My advice is to find several different birth plans, focus on the important things, and make it for you & your support person to refer to. When the nurse asks if you want anything specific, tell him/her then. We know things can change & you might change your mind. We always try to accommodate your wishes, so don't be afraid to speak up. If something will be a problem, we will let you know as the problems would arise.

I hope I haven't hurt your feelings. I just wanted to help you out. You can PM me if you have any further questions.

lilbit923 · September 2009

I had one birth plan and my son had another. You can try to stick to it all you want but when push comes to shove, you do what you have to do when it comes to getting that baby here quickly and safely.

tanya8 · September 2009

We did go in with a birth "preferences", and immediately gave it to the nurse. The most important thing for me was that they knew that I wanted to exclusively breastfeed. I wouldnt say there was a least important thing, but then again, I went in for an induction and ended up with a c-section....nothing that was in the original "plan". Just make sure you are very flexible.

Shmoopy_poo · September 2009

I used the "multiple choice" BP from this website. But then after I took the Labor, Delivery and PP class, my plan basically went out the window. I mostly just care about being able to bf ASAP.

annabelle.27 · September 2009

I gave mine to the doctor. He read it and said that it was all part of their standard practice.

THE PLAN (bolded items were most important to me):

- if any friends or family members other than my husband show up at the hospital while I'm in labour, please ask them to leave. I do not want any other support person present.

- no pain medication offered, please

- I would like to labour in various positions, as I see fit

- I would like to eat and drink while in labour

- I would like to push with my husband sitting behind me on the bed, for emotional and physical support.

- I would like to avoid an episiotomy, and the use of forceps and vacuum extraction.

- After the delivery, I would like my baby to be placed on me immediately.

- I would like to leave the umbilical cord intact for a few minutes.

- I would like to breastfeed immediately.

- In case of c-section, I want my husband to be present for the surgery and stay with the baby while I am in recovery.

They stuck to everything related to labour, except one part. When it was time to push, the nurse positioned my husband so that he was holding my leg. I was too tired at the time to tell her otherwise. I'm sure she just forgot, I can't imagine it would have been an issue if I had had the energy to argue for it.

Much of what I wanted after delivery didn't end up happening, though, as I wound up with an emergency c-section after three hours of pushing with zero progress. But it was due to the c-section, not due to them arguing with my plan. They had no problem with any of the after birth stuff in a normal delivery- but it was all non-negotiable in the OR. Unfortunately, the after birth stuff was largely what I considered to be most important.

heatherlane · September 2009

It was very helpful to me to talk about our preferences in advance with our staff. Although our birth story was the opposite of what we wanted, we had planned to be flexible and I had researched every option so I knew what to expect and I was comfortable with each new situation.

JCapp8306 · September 2009

I gave a copy to my midwife two weeks before my due date, she read it in front of me and said I did a lovely job of writing it out. I also gave a copy to the maternity ward when I finished all the paperwork a week before delivery, my doula had a copy of it, DH and my mom had read it, and had 2-3 copies at the front of the door for people passing in and out (I don't know if anyone read it).

Yes, luckily everyone stuck to the birth plan, especially the things that were extremely important to me. The only thing that I had originally objected to was getting my water broken, but at 9cm dilated, my midwife gave me the option to break my bag, gave me the pros and cons, and I agreed it would be best to break it.

Most important info I had in my plan.... not being offered any drugs (my mom overheard some nurses discussing giving one so I could rest between contractions since I got there so soon, but another reminded them of my birth plan), waiting for the umbilical cord to stop pulsating (my midwife knew this prior, and told me when she was cutting it that it had stopped pulsating), not having an episiotomy (MW used oils and actually threatened me with one if I didn't push correctly, which worked cuz then I pushed like I was suppose to), having DH follow baby when she left the room for less than 5 minutes, having the baby stay in the room for the first few testings, having my support team with me at all times.

Least important: To me it is all important, that's why I wrote it out for everyone.

I did write on my plan additional options if things weren't going as I wished, examples: use of episiotomy, forceps, vacuum, who would stay with me during a cesarean and who would follow baby. Be flexible.

kimberly.kent · September 2009

I was all focused on a birth plan and had a detail oriented one but then we went on our hospital tour. I knew we made a good choice but I didn't realize until then how good of a choice we did make.

The things important to me: Husband cut cord, no one but DH and my sister in room during delivery, skin to skin directly after birth, NO FORMULA, our circumcision decison, keeping him in our room at all times, laboring in various positions and working with it vs against it, discussing anything going on, etc.

We found out on our tour that all of these things are done unless directed to differently. The nurses are trained in all forms of laboring and have various tools available to us if we desire (birth ball, squat bar, whirlpool tub, etc) and will be with you at all times helping you. We also have a very pro baby hospital so unless you tell them, they assume you are breastfeeding and the baby actually doesn't leave your room. They also seriously encourage skin to skin for both mother and father for at least the first hour after birth with no visitors.

We discussed our few decisions with our Dr but other than that, we didn't feel we needed a real "plan" since we felt we were getting what we wanted anyway. Know what you want and be flexible are the two pieces of advice we've gotten.

Chrysallys · September 2009

I gave it to my midwives predelivery and to the on call midwife once I was at the hospital, in labor. Every single shift of nurses read it as did the anesthesiologist.

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