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Natural Birth
herlysgirly
member
Birth Preferences
herlysgirly
member
For anyone who likes to read/critique birth plans, please feel free to let me know how I did! I omitted a few things from my first pregnancy, after finding out my Dr.'s usual policy (ex: episiotomies, etc). I also added a couple of things based on how my DD's natural hospital birth went that I'd like to see go differently. I tried to be direct yet polite. I like to call it my "birth preferences" because I know not everything goes according to "plan" all the time, and I'm flexible. I just want a healthy & happy baby. This is less than a page 12 pt. font. There is a small header at the top with my name, Dr.'s name & Hospital, as well as my due date.
Labor/Delivery
? Please do not offer pain medication or ask me to report pain scales.
? I would prefer a saline lock.
? I would prefer telemetry monitoring.
? Please encourage/allow me to be free to walk, change positions, drink water, and use the bathroom as needed or desired.
? I would like to discuss and give consent to any procedures/interventions deemed necessary.
?
Please support the perineum during pushing /
crowning to minimize tearing.
Immediately after the birth
? Please place Baby on my stomach/chest immediately after delivery.
? I would like to hold Baby skin-to-skin to help regulate his temperature ? please evaluate him as I hold him.
? Please allow me to continue holding him through delivery of the placenta and any repair procedures, if I am able.
? I would like to breastfeed Baby immediately.
? I consent to third stage pitocin to help deliver the placenta, and prevent hemorrhaging.
? I decline any additional IV fluids, and ask that my saline lock be removed as soon as possible after delivery of the placenta.
? If Baby must go to the nursery/NICU for emergency medical treatment, my husband will accompany him.
? Please delay eye medication for Baby until we are well past the initial bonding period.
Postpartum
? Please do not give Baby ANY supplements, pacifiers, or bottles without my consent.
? Baby will room-in with me at ALL times.
? Please perform his first bath in my room, after we have had time to bond. I will place him skin-to-skin immediately, rather than in a warmer.
In Case of Emergency Cesarean Section Delivery
? I feel very strongly that I would like to avoid a cesarean delivery.
? Please allow my husband to be present during the surgery.
? If possible, I would like to breastfeed Baby immediately after the birth.
? If it is not possible for me to be the first to hold baby after delivery, please let my husband be with him at all times.
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Birth Preferences
Looks good!
What about mother directed pushing or delayed clamping of cord? Have you thought about if you want to do those? Or are those routine at your hospital?
My initial reactions is that it's still really long and won't be read. I think a few things could be combined or deleted. Like the third stage pitocin - since you are OK with that and it's already their policy, I don't see the point of having it in there. I think the first 3 bullets in the "Immediately after birth section" can be combined/condensed along with the one about the bath in the postpartum section. The removal of saline lock one - seems like you could just tell them at the time.
Is it their policy for the baby to stay with you? It was at my hospital. If so, you can remove anything about that. Is it policy for the husband to be present during a c/s? If so, that one can be removed too. Actually, the entire c/s section seems like it would be dictated by their policy or your husband could advocate for himself at the time... I don't think they'll be reading it during a c/s anyway.
Really, just try to pare down the number of bullets to what someone really needs to know in the moment and reduce any extra wordiness (ex. "I feel very strongly", "If possible" since you've already said it's preferences so that's redundant, etc.)
DS, May 2011
It looks good, the bullets are effective because they are brief and get to the heart of the matter.
Still I think you can remove some. For example: the fourth bullet down is not needed. If you are already asking for telemonitoring then the assumption would be that you want to move. If you want to move/change positions,drink then do so. I would also remove the 5th bullet, unless you are unconscious then they need your consent.
The next section could really be broken down to just a few bullets. Something like 'We request immediate skin-to-skin contact for 1 hour (2 hrs whatever)." That should eliminate the first four bullets. PP is right the PIt bullet is not needed since it sounds like that is already procedure.
The c-section part should probably be a separate page given to them only in the event of a c-section.
This really looks good, I just think it can be tightened up a little more.
If it's important to you you might also want to add something if you want the pushing phase to be more self-directed. Like if you want to avoid them counting, telling you when to push, etc.
Thanks! They were good about letting me do mother directed pushing with DD, and I never had it in there, so I figured I'd be ok. Or is this a nurse-by-nurse type of situation, where they all do it differently? I talked to Dr. about cord clamping already, and we're doing the same as we did last time, so no worries there either.
I agree, I'm trying to go shorter. You're right about the pitocin, I'll just take that out. I was specific about the bath because I had issues with DD, and I feel like the nurse was resentful that I wanted her bathed in my room. She left DD in the warmer and I had to watch her scream for forever. I kept asking if we could take her out, and she'd say no & then disappear. If I could do it over, I would just pick her up and not even ask. I don't know what I was thinking, she's my child. But this time I'm not taking any chances, and they're not even using the warmer!
The saline lock removal - I guess I could just tell them and be adamant about it at the time, but they didn't listen to me last time when I wanted it out, and had me hooked up to saline/fluids after the birth before I even realized what had happened!
Baby rooming in - it isn't policy, but they say you can do it. Nurses kept asking me all night last time if I wanted her brought to the nursery, so I threw that in so they wouldn't ask. Guess its not completely necessary though. Not like they can take him without my permission! I didn't initially have a c-section part, but someone on here had recommended that people add one.
Thanks for the help!
Update: Thanks so much ladies! It looks so much better/shorter now. I condensed the whole thing down to three bullets for each of the first three sections, and got rid of the Emergency C portion. DH will be strictly instructed to follow that baby wherever he goes, and I will be adamant that they bring him back to me to BF ASAP if I do end up with a C.
Well done!