birthplan

[Jupiter]

How does one go about writing one? What should be in it?

[brittone2]

I think some of it depends on what the standard is where you are delivering and your care provider's standard type of care. For example, my birthplan when I delivered with a CNM at a hospital was different from my birthplan at a FSBC with a CNM, where certain things were a given for them.

[NewMom2007]

You can find great templates online. My doula, midwife and I agreed that one page is best - you need to make it something that anyone who will be in your room can understand and review quickly (nurses, Drs, midwives, etc).

I covered things like:

cord clamping (delayed for us)
if a boy, no circumcision (bolded!)
self-directed pushing

you can also include things like what shots/vitamins/etc to administer or not, whether to bathe baby or not, if baby should be handed to you immediately and stay with you (or go to be weighed/measured shortly after birth), etc, etc.

Discuss it with your Dr/Midwife beforehand and make edits as necessary.

I also include a line thanking the Midwives/Drs/Nurses for being a part of this experience.

[wellyes]

It helped me work through my hopes, fears and expectations. I wrote mine about a month before my (1st) due date, and used the info in conversations with my OB and midwife in the weekly visits during that final month. But, I did not give them or the hospital my plan. It was more of a mental exercise for me than anything else. I ended up following only a portion of it. But I was glad I did it.

I have had a friend who had a very, very hard time emotionally when her birth went completely differently than she hoped (planned drug free, ended up with emergency cesarean). As you know, so much is out of your control. It might be bet to prepare for your best case scenario and also what you'd like your partner to keep in mind if you temporarily lose the ability to make all the decisions.

I don't remember what form I used, I just google some template.

ETA - I definitely agree with the pp, keep it very friendly to the hospital staff. I have seen some plans that would be off putting to the most generous minded nurses. They are just people going to work who want to help you AND like you.

[jjordan]

I just posted this in the delayed cord clamping thread... copying and pasting from there:


With our last dd (first hospital birth), our "birth plan" was kept extremely simple so that it would be easy to follow. This was it: "Delay clamping the cord until it has stopped pulsing. Delay eye goop for one hour. Refuse Hep B." And that was it. It was followed. :)

Looking at online birth plan templates and such, I think that there's lots of stuff there that most people don't really need to write in a birth plan that they give to their doctor/midwife. Think it through for your OWN sake, write it down for yourself/support people if you like, but your midwife/doctor doesn't need to know that you want to listen to music during labor, or whatever. Definitely discuss all the non-medical preferences with the father or whoever your primary support person will be - if you have a doula they should be on top of all those sorts of "comfort during labor" things. But honestly I wouldn't put them in a birth plan that you give to your doctor/midwife unless there's some reason why they really need to know - like, maybe the hospital has rules against music and so you need your midwife/doctor to go to bat for you and insist that you can listen to your own music. (Extreme example that I can't imagine actually happening... though I guess you never know.)

I'd start by finding out what is standard medical procedure at your hospital and/or with the doctor/midwife who will deliver the baby. Then if you have medical concerns or would like to express preferences, those are what should go in your birth plan. (For example, there's no point in saying you don't want to be shaved or have an enema if no one at your hospital actually does that. Or if they routinely do the newborn exam while baby is on your tummy, then you don't need to request that. Anything unnecessary that goes in your plan makes it longer, and gives it less of a chance of being read and followed.)

[SnuggleBuggles]

There's a book called "Creating your Birth Plan" by Marsden Wagner and its a fantastic start! The library should have it and so does Amazon.

Search on here for birth plans too. Lots of ideas.

I broke mine up into different scenarios bc I thought 1 birth plan that tried to accommodate all the what ifs was too wordy. I had an induction BP, a csection BP, a perfect plan (birth center), and a hospital plan. I had a few key things that I probably could reduce it down to now if I were writing again.

Like pp said though, it matters where you are giving birth and who is attending your birth. Some things are redundant in some cases.

[NewMom2007]

I'd start by finding out what is standard medical procedure at your hospital and/or with the doctor/midwife who will deliver the baby. Then if you have medical concerns or would like to express preferences, those are what should go in your birth plan. (For example, there's no point in saying you don't want to be shaved or have an enema if no one at your hospital actually does that. Or if they routinely do the newborn exam while baby is on your tummy, then you don't need to request that. Anything unnecessary that goes in your plan makes it longer, and gives it less of a chance of being read and followed.)

Great point - there are so many variables and your provider may already do many of the things you want done. Have a conversation covering your thoughts and you can quickly narrow down to those things which are important to you and that may not be standard for your provider.

Be flexible when discussing with your provider and be open to their suggestions. Ultimately, you need to be comfortable with your plan, but they have lots of experience and should have some suggestions. Of course, if they say something totally against what you want, that's something you want to sort out well before delivery.

[jam224]

Here's a template from EMAB that will help give you some ideas to think about: http://www.earthmamaangelbaby.com/free-birth-plan

I agree with the PPs: shorter (more concise) is best. Definitely keep a friendly tone. Definitely go over it with your OB/Midwife beforehand. Have him/her sign off on it and keep that copy at the hospital. Make sure you have an extra copy in your hospital bag to bring with you when you go into labor.

My birth plan was one of the most amazing things I did to prepare. The hospital staff were so attentive to it, I really appreciated their respect. I had an amazing experience! Hope you do too!

[swrc00]

My hospital has their own template. You might want to check before you create your own. The nurses said it was helpful to consistently see the same one, since they easily could identify locations of certain things.

[kaharris83]

All the PPs have given great advice. One page and simple bullet points was my format. At my practice whoever is on duty at the hospital delivers you so for me discussing my plan with my doc before was pointless, she wasn't there. :) We chose to include the things that were most important to us. Also we brought treats for the nurses when we gave them the birth plan. They appreciated the chocolates.

[SnuggleBuggles]

Just wanted to agree with pp that writing a BP was one of the things get best prepared me. I never had heard of things nor did I have any ideas why I'd want to choose them or not. I researched and learned a ton- much more than the average mom. I really just wanted to know all of the risks, benefits and options so I could make an informed choice about things. For me, it wasn't about planning the perfect birth and expecting it to go like I wrote (though both did!). I didn't want to be clueless and just feel helpless. Good luck!

[AnnieW625]

With the baby we lost I was given a form to fill out and it listed a bunch of questions. I homestly domt remember what they were or what I put down. I blocked most of that pregnancy out. I did not have a formal plan with either DD1 or DD2. With DD1 I wanted to avoid an epidural because I am crazy afraid of needles, but other than that I didn't really have too many expectations. With DD1 due to pitocin working quite fast DH encouraged me to get te epidural and in the end I am glad I did. With DD2 I said I didn't want pitocin unless it was a last resort and I would not get an epidural unless I needed pitocin. I ended up not needing either.