Birth is an uncertain time and it can cause some anxiety due to the unknown. When will I go into labor? How will it happen? How will I handle it? While I cannot answer these questions with certainty the one thing I can do is educate you and give you most scenarios to plan. I will upload my template in the group so you can print it out and fill it out and send it to me.
Lets first go over how to plan your birth. Think of your absolute ideal birth, now we need to put it on paper. With the ideal birth in our head we must also plan for the off chance that it doesn’t turn out exactly as planned, still leaving you with a feeling that you’re the driver of this bus. The first thing you will outline is if you have any medical conditons and who your birth team is, this will be important as to how you plan this. The next thing we will be outlining is induction methods you prefer, if any, and pain management measures. A birth plan is not just for an unmedicated birth, please do not think that, it is for an educated birth. While you think of each scenario you educate yourself on the alternatives. Outline pain management scenarios, for example “the choice to use an epidural will be used in labor. Please do not ask me, I will discuss it with my doula and I will request an epidural”.
Let’s talk prelabor and due dates, it needs to be discussed how you will handle induction talk if you are not interested in induction methods. Induction will be talked about, even in a healthy pregnancy, at about 39 weeks. It’s best if your doctor has your birth plan prior to that time so they know how you feel about inductions, no matter if it is a yes or a no and what methods you are open to. Think about where you would like to begin prelabor, how long do you want to remain at home? Do you want to go to the hospital/birth center as soon as you hit 4-1-1 or would you like to labor at home for a while?
During labor think about how you feel about cervical exams. Do you want limited exams? Exams only when you ask? No exams at all? Cervical exams are not mandatory, you get to outline this. Think about the environment you want to birth in, is there something that brings you great joy? We want to make the most natural oxytocin so it can be anything from a scent to a music playlist or maybe just a ton of hugs from your birth partner. How do you want to get your labor to progress? Would you like to use the birth ball, walking, squatting? This is your birth and you get to decide how this will happen!
Next up we need to think about pushing and this topic really needs to be discussed early on with providers. Most make you push on your back, but not all. If you’re interested in alternative pushing methods it’s a good idea to ask about policy and submit this to your provider prior to your birth. Also think about who wants to catch the baby, if you want to see the baby born, if you want to touch the baby’s head as they crown, do you want to wait until you feel the urge to push, be coached while pushing? Do you want the placenta to be born naturally? Do you want your placenta after birth?
The hard and uncertain things about birth also need to be talked about, like if a C-Section is imminent how do you want to handle this? Be sure to put in there that you would like a moment, if possible, to discuss all choices with your birth team. Have them explain your options as well, like is a gentle c-section an option? Have them explain the procedure to you and still take control of your birth. Also think about if the baby has to go to the NICU how would you like that handled, would you like somone from your birth team to go with the baby? While these are hard topics to think about, they are necessary just to outline in your plan. I actually toured all the possible NICUs that my twins would potentially go to, met the nurses and became familiar with their policies.
Now that the birth is over lets talk about the post birth experience, baby is here with you and now you are advocating for baby! Would you like delayed cord clamping and for how long? How do you feel about eye ointments and the hepatitis B Vaccine? Do you want immediate skin to skin and breastfeeding? Would you like to forego all baths and testing for 24 hours? Will you be circumcising? What do you want for postpartum pain management? These are all important things to think about as well and are outlined on the birth planning form I will provide for you.
Now we need to think about how do we want to convey the message so it is heard loud and clear? There are two ways you can do this, you can use a visual birth plan where it’s a little more concise using icons to explain what you want or you can use it in paragraph form where you can really explain in detail what you want or bullet points. This will really depend on how you feel it will be best for your birth team and your provider to come together. Let’s get started writing these plans! I’m so excited to read them and help you through this process!
Birth with a Voice 