- Pregnancy
- Baby & Toddler
- Parents
- Getting Pregnant
- Baby Names
- Product Reviews
-
Registry
- Community
-
More
Want a personalized experience?
Download the free app
June 2011 Moms
erinlovesdavid
member
Do you have a birth plan?
erinlovesdavid
member
I feel like I should maybe get started on a birth plan, but I really have no idea what it should include.
What's included (or will be) in yours?
Warning
No formatter is installed for the format bbhtml
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Do you have a birth plan?
Just the words "birth plan" always make me think of the movie Knocked Up and the whole scene were she freaks out because her Dr. is away when she goes into labor. I think because of that movie I decided not to have a plan. I have ideas of what I would like to happen... (like I hope to go drug-free), but I guess I'll deal with it all as it comes.
I'm just starting on mine (and it will probably continue to be updated as I read more/go through birth class/meet with doulas).
Thus far I have these things:
I do not want an epidural or pain medicine offered. I will ask if I need it.
I want a hep-lock so I am not tied to an IV pole.
I want to drink and eat lightly during labor (I was told drinking water was find, but my OB skirted eating... so I'm not sure if that's going to happen)
I want freedom to move around during labor as I see fit.
I do not want "cheerleaders" yelling for me to push. Encouragement without telling me what to do is good
No episiotomy unless there are no other options (including changing position)
Skin to skin contact immediately after birth (I don't need her wiped off), delay cord clamping (cut between 1-2 min), delay in newborn procedures such as eye ointment, heel prick and shots. I do not want her out of my or DH's sight for even a second (luckily, my hospital does everything in room).
If I have a C-section, I want DD to stay in the operating room with me.
No formula, sugar water, or pacifiers offered to her.
I think that's all I've got for now
I feel like my nurses are going to hate me!
ETA: This is clearly an "If everything goes as planned type list". If there are complications, I fully expect (and encourage) the medical staff to do whatever they need to do to make sure DD is as happy and healthy as possible.
This is my....
Mother?s Name: Nicole (Nickie) L***
Father?s Name: Kelly L***
Doula: Brenda W*****
Baby?s Name: Desmond Ryan L****
Labor:
*I would like to avoid pitocin for augmentation of labor. If induction becomes medically necessary, I would prefer to attempt it with other means before pitocin is administered.
*Please do not offer me an epidural or other pain medication during labor. If I want pain relief, I will request it.
*Please allow lights to be dim as well as whispering when entering our room. I am using Hypnobabies to get though my labor and delivery.
*I would like to have freedom of movement throughout labor and delivery.
Delivery:
*I would like to avoid an episiotomy unless it is necessary for the safety of the baby.
*I would like to delay cord clamping/cutting until after the cord has stopped pulsating.
*Unless baby is in distress, please allow me to have skin-to-skin contact and breastfeed immediately after delivery.
*I would like to avoid pitocin to deliver the placenta unless medically necessary.
Newborn care:
*I would like to delay administration of eye ointment until after the baby and I have had a chance to bond and breastfeed (a couple hours).
*If baby must leave the room for evaluation or treatment, my husband or I should accompany the baby at all times.
*Please do not give the baby a bottle/formula/pacifier unless absolutely necessary, and only if myself or my husband have given explicit permission to do so.
Cesarean:
*If it becomes necessary to deliver the baby by c-section, I would like to avoid general anesthesia unless absolutely medically necessary.
*I would like to have my husband present at all times.
*If our baby is not in distress, please allow my husband to hold him/her immediately.
*If baby must leave the room for evaluation or treatment, my husband or I should accompany the baby at all times.
Proud Cloth Diapering, Babywearing Mommy to Desmond (5.30.2011) and Evangeline (2.26.2014)
Loving wife, best friend and teammate to Babywearing Daddy, Kelly (7.27.2000)
Volunteer Babywearing Educator at Babywearing International of South Central Pennsylvania
My birth plan is to have two healthy babies.
If I can make it to term and Baby A stays head down, I'll write something out. But if I develop any (more) complications or Baby A is breech, I'm fairly certain I'll be having a scheduled c-section. Not the birth plan I wanted, but life changes!
Here is my plan:
Get me and the baby through this safely. Vaginal birth or c section, I do not care. Epidural as soon as possible.
i'm going to be preparing two: one for my planned homebirth and another in case a transfer to the hospital is necessary. i'll just revise the ones i wrote last time. my homebirth one was really short. this time it may be even shorter. it's basically going to say:
*no internals,
*please leave me alone during labor,
*i'll tell you when i'm ready to push,
*i want to cut the cord myself,
*and i want to keep the placenta.
my hospital birth plan is going to be much more detailed.
This is very similar to mine. I think of it as more of a tool for DH and I to be on the same page more than anything. We both realize that things could go very differently and our end goal of course is to have a healthy baby in the end.
I don't have an official one because my OB's office refuses to sign off on them. I don't blame them either.
I don't want vacuum or forceps used. I want skin-to-skin immediately (the hospital is big on this) and I want to breastfeed before they do all the normal infant care procedures. I also talked with my GP the other night and he advised me to pass on the Hep B booster they give in the hospital and just start the Hep B series when she's two months old. His exact words were "She's not a f-ing hospital worker." I love his blunt honesty and I trust his advice...he has three little girls of his own.