Birth plans

Savara07 · December 2008

Ok, for some reason I'm not motivated to write a birth plan, or not motivated to think hard enough to write a birth plan, one or the other lol. Can you please post yours so I can get some ideas for mine? Thanks!

keri1013 · December 2008

I don't have one yet, but we'll be working on one with our doula, so I'll be watching this post for ideas!

LuvBug12683 · December 2008

don't feel bad. We never wrote one with either of our kids...lol

MrsBellaRosa · December 2008

I follow this blog, and there are a few pretty graphic pictures on there, so just be warned. But I really though this post was kind of helpful.

https://navelgazingmidwife.squarespace.com/navelgazing-midwife-blog/2008/11/3/what-happened-to-follow-up-to-birth-plans.html

Nancy_Drew · December 2008

Honestly you do not need one!

When you check into the hospital, the nurse has a million questions for you and you will go over everything important that you would put into a birth plan.

My Dr even commented at one of my last appts that is a running joke among Dr's that the longer/more elaborate the birth plan the more likely the patient is to have a c section/ or have things NOT go their way.

She also said things like putting the baby on your tummy, the dad cutting the cord, BF'ing right away etc... are things you do NOT need on your birth plan.

I would not stress on it, you will go thru everything when you check in! (Over and over actually)

JRS72206 · December 2008

At our birthing classes they gave us a paper to fill out to give to our doctor. All I specified is that I wanted DD to be exclusively breastfed, go as med free as possible and who I wanted in the room. I had to be specific with who I wanted in the room because of MIL.

board2mountain · December 2008

We had one but never gave it to anyone at the hospital. It stayed in my suitcase. We are very laid back and trusted the doctor's to do their jobs. Everything worked out.

indigo91804 · December 2008

We had one with Logan and it went completely out the window. What a waste of time it was to write. I think it is great because you research all the "what ifs" and educating yourself is the MOST important thing but the actually birth plan itself is useless, UNLESS you are dead set for or against something.

cwhip77 · December 2008

I didn't write one. I just told my doc to do what he thought was best for the baby and myself and went into it with an open mind. I've heard if you do write one to keep it as short as possible, just the things you feel most strongly about, to make sure the staff actually read and absorb it.

~

BriAndSean · December 2008

We also opted not to do a birth plan even though I was convinced it was super important. Actually, I think not having a birth plan was the better choice for us. It helped me go into my labor with an open mind. When I found out I had to be induced, I was able to take it all in stride. If I had a brth plan that didn't include being induced, I might have already felt like a failure before I was even in labor. My mom was the one that convinced me not to write a birth plan. She is a L&D nurse and she said birth plans tend to cause people to be too narrow minded and then they get disapointed when things don't go their way. My labor experienced was so much better than I could have ever planned or imagined!

FutureMrsLynch · December 2008

I made a simple one here:

https://www.birthplan.com/birthplanner.php

Although I do not think they are 100% important, I wanted to make sure the drs knew that I planned on Bfing and that dh wanted to cut the cord

I also wanted to make it clear that no one (aside from drs and nurses) was to hold the baby before dh and I both got to hold him. I've heard too many horror stories on here of women who ended up with c-sections and their MIL got to hold their baby before them =/ Call me selfish but, for some reason that would really bother me...

Seattle_JiLLn · December 2008

There are some on line that ask you questions so you can put one together. But I'll tell you, be ready for it all to go out the door when you're actually there and leave wiggle room... I have so many friends who have had births go so differently than they anticipated, and the less invested you get in the 'experience", the more easily you can roll with it I think. Try to only write down the things you feel very strongly about.

babyaustin725 · December 2008

I wrote one, but it didn't come out of my bag either. It also ended up not being followed. I went with the flow of things and made decisions as we went. Now, if I wanted to go drug free, I would definitely put that in writing or make sure the nurses knew that. I would hate to be in a the middle of labor and really be struggling and have someone offer me an epi and have to chose. I would be sure they knew not to mention it unless I asked.

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