What is on it?
I wrote one because the class I took told me to. Then I promptly left mine at home when I went into labor. The nurse asked if I had one and I told her yes, I want an epidural and to get the baby out.
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Nothing beyond healthy baby and mama.
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Healthy baby. Healthy mama. Avoid a c section IF POSSIBLE. Epidural stat. The end.
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No pain meds, no interventions unless deemed medically necessary, telemetry monitoring would like to move around during labor, alternate pushing positions, avoid c-sect if possible.
I ended up with no pain meds, IV hydration, constant monitoring (I couldn't bear to be touched, so they left the monitors on me), laboring flat on my back while I was at the hospital (I had walked for about 10 hours before that and was exhausted), and delivered on all fours.
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Nope. Healthy babies and mama, please. Avoid a c-section if at all possible but do what needs to be done to keep everyone healthy.
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Yeah, but it all went out the window when I had to be induced, so I didn't even take it out of the bag. I think the process of making one was stress relieving leading up to labor, so I'm glad I did it for that purpose alone.
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I did. I found the practice of writing it very helpful to me. I was so scared of all of the unknowns of L&D, and sitting down and really thinking about all of the possibilities and focusing on what an ideal birth meant to me was very calming. Mine was pretty simple--prefaced with "My goal is a healthy baby and mother, but so long as my labor is progressing at a steady and normal rate, I would prefer..."
Mine had things like "I'd like to have to ask for an epidural rather than be offered, I would like to be able to walk around/take a shower/use yoga ball/etc". I preferred to tear rather than be cut, D to annouce the gender, delayed cord clamping and immediate skin to skin.
Basically it never made it out of the bag. By the time I was admitted I had been in back labor for 20 hours and right off the bat asked for an epidural. I actually waved it away when D pulled it out of the bag. I did end up being cut, and tore on top of it (he was sunny-side up and they weren't able to turn him coming out...D watched them try to stretch me repeatedly before cutting, and he felt it was warranted and I trust him and the OB). Because of a hemorrhage I wasn't able to get delayed cord clamping or immediate skin to skin (but I had him within 10 minutes). D did announce we had a son, though
So maybe it was ultimately a waste of my energy, but I'm still glad I wrote one...
This time I haven't bothered to think about it much. I have some possible placental issues and am at a higher risk of a repeat hemorrhage because of it. My practice has a plan in place for immediate after delivery, which includes getting either one or both pieces of the placenta out ASAP (depending on whether or not it holds together), and getting my uterus contracting down with pitocin, and having whatever else tools/meds they might need on hand when I start pushing, just in case. I've also already signed a consent form to go in the OR if needed. With that in mind I'm likely just going to opt for another epidural right off the bat.
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I did not! I had to get an induction, so I just went from there!
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Yes & it went out the window after 26 hours of back labor! I can't remember all of it but some stuff was...No pain meds (got them) no pitocin (got it) not on back for pushing (was on my back) no cervical checks (got those too!) ...but the stuff for the baby we did stick to...no eye ointment, vit K shot to be given 24 hours after birth, metabolic blood draw to be done 24 hours after birth, no hep b vaccine (we did that with his pediatrician the following week).
The nurses and midwives were very appreciative I had everything written out!
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We had a long TTC journey with losses along the way and when we got admitted they asked DH and he just said "born alive." The midwife was erm, okay...how about healthy mom and baby?? He sorta shrugged and was like "as long as they are alive." She was like OKAY....
We discussed a bunch of things and it came down to wanting to have options presented to us appropriately and letting us make decisions in the moment. No one pressured us into anything and we felt very empowered and happy by the experience despite a lonnnng annoying labor.
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I didn't write anything down, but my plan was to basically labor at home as long as possible.
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None. My first was born at 34 weeks, I didn't have time to think about a birth plan. After having a 34 weeker, only goal is to make it as close to 37 weeks as possible and then let the doctor take over.
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I had one and did print it out and give it to them when I got there. It was pretty basic- I wanted med free, as little intervention as possible, immediate skin to skin, and for DH to announce the sex, and avoid an episiotomy as much as possible. I pretty much got exactly what I wanted, but most of that was standard practice as my midwife practice anyway. I also had things written like "I respond well to directions- feel free to tell me what to do".
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Nothing. I ended up with c sections anyway. But basically, healthy baby, healthy mama, and pain management.
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Yep! It had my preferences on standard interventions (IV, pain meds, episiotomy, etc) & what we wanted for baby post-birth. I also put in how important it was for my husband & I to be included/informed/& have time to decide on non-emergency suggestions.
I was induced, but my midwife had read it before hand and the nurse clearly read it because she referenced it during labor. The doctor who came in at the end to use the vacuum thingy didn't read it, but my midwife was still there. I'm glad I had it/wrote it. I asked my new midwife if I should bother with one for my 2nd delivery and she said yes, definitely. It's going to be much shorter this time, but also more specific about what's important to me.
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I had a some notes jotted down about shots and stuff for baby from a family friend who is an L and D nurse. And I did have my husband dig that out of my bag after baby was born. But I had no written down birth plan. I knew what I wanted, and so did my husband and mom, and they advocated for me.
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Posts like this can tend to lead anti-birth plan. I am super pro-birth plan. What do I care? People do whatever, but I found mine extremely helpful for preparing, and the doc on call read the entire thing in front of me in triage. So did each and every nurse, so did the residents. They were super respectful and asked questions, and it gave us points to discus if they had questions.
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I wrote a detailed birth plan and was extremely glad I did. I went into hard labor very quickly and so I really wasn't able to chat with the midwife about my preferences at all, and DH was focused on me, so it made things so much easier to just hand over a piece of paper to her. The nurses and midwife were very supportive of all my preferences.
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Yes, I have a birth plan that details my preferences should I need a hospital transfer or cesarean, as well as how I would like my baby to be handled post-delivery. I found it helpful to actually write everything out, and I think it puts me in a good place to advocate for the most ideal birth experience I can have.
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Healthy mom, healthy baby. Epidural ASAP. The end.
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I had birth preferences. It helped me figure out what was important to me and what wasn't a big deal as well as my doctors, nurses and hospitals standard procedures were. It helped me feel confident in my care and made me feel like my providers were on my team to deliver baby healthy and keep me safe as well. All the preferences were if things were going smoothly and then secondary preferences for medical intervention.
I think it's a good exercise to go through even if you want an epi, etc because it educates you and your birth partner on how things can go, what's normal, what's not and opens the door for conversation with your doctor if you don't necessarily know the questions to ask (I sure didn't when I got pregnant!). Not all birth plans have to be 10 pages with a list of demands.
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Yep! My hospital actually has a birth plan form. And the entire team looked it over and followed it. They were awesome about it!
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Nope. All I cared about was a healthy mom and baby. I wanted to go with the flow.
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@mediagirl: Haha I like yours! I have one but its 4 bullet points. LOL.
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Nope - I only wanted two things (besides the obvious healthy baby and healthy mama); an epidural ASAP and immediate skin to skin. Didn't care about anything else.
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I didn't have a birth plan - other than get this child out of me the best way possible with us both as healthy and happy as possible! I had an overall positive birth experience and trusted my team completely!
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Yeah, I was one of those anxious, high maintenance FTMs with a super detailed birth plan. Haha!
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I had all these ideas with #1, but they went out of the window when I was diagnosed with GD. Once your "high risk" and on the induction list, there's no point planning anything.
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Definitely, although it was basic and straightforward. Nothing about, like, essential oils and music. But I shared it with my OB, and she knew my wishes. I knew some things might change, but the birth plan was an important part of me having a really positive labor, delivery, and recovery experience.
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I went over most things that could happen in my childbirth class. Most of the things I wanted were standard practice at my hospital, and were things my doctor also followed. So I felt pretty confident in my team that they would support what I wanted as long as things went smoothly. Everything went amazing, I had an awesome nurse, she listened to me and made suggestions not demands. Overall I was really glad I had a go with the flow attitude
It made me way more relaxed and helped labor go super smoothEta I didn't actually write a birth plan but had discussed what i wanted with hubby and my ob
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With my first, I wanted one but never bothered writing one because I generally thought the whole thing was out of my control. With this baby, I want one and am going to have one dammit! I'll write it together with my doula as I'm going to rely on her and DH to make sure it is followed as best as possible.
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I ended up with c-sections both times but while vaginal deliveries were still on the table my plan was simply no forceps. I was open to everything else and would have had no problem going to a section if needed
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Yes, it wasn't super in-depth - just my preferences for my ideal birth. I had to change about half of it because I was induced, but my midwife still looked over it and really took my preferences into consideration.
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@mediagirl: not last time.
this time i intend to have onewith top priorities like
my husband will tell me the sex of the baby
my husband wants to cut the cordthen some smaller stuff below. i think i will work on it around christmas break
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I had several-- one for each set of circumstances that might arise (induction, emergency, normal birth). I gave a copy to my doula so she could help us make assertions as needed. In the end everything happened so quickly that most of it was not needed. It was so good to do, though, and know our preferences on things like protocol to facilitate expulsion of the placenta (who knew) and whether or not they should bathe her. I'll definitely do it again!
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Healthy baby, healthy mom.
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No - I just planned to go with the flow (and get an epidural, but I couldn't). I trusted my midwives to give me advice and do whatever was necessary to deliver my baby safely.
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I wrote a 'birth intentions' document that was less than one page. I wanted an epi and would not fight them on a section if necessary. No one allowed in the room besides M and @littlejoy. Wanted to breastfeed/skin to skin right away- and delay anything not needed right away to make that happen. It was nice to have my wishes in place. But I had a 43 hour induction and never cared about having a med free birth- it went as well as it could regardless of what it said on that piece of paper.
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Yes, but only because everyone made me think I needed one. That all went out the window when I was induced due to preeclampsia and couldn't move around/leave the bed.
I am really hopeful for a more normal situation next go-round, but I'm not quite mentally (or physically) ready to jump in again yet...
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dH and I had a lot of conversations about it. I didn't write anything down but we talked about it when we arrived and he was good at articulating during.
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53 comments