https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Sat, 02 May 2026 00:50:52 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/diddo-you-have-a-birth-plan/page/2#post-17341 Thu, 17 Nov 2011 13:54:17 +0000 Navy_Mommy 17341@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@themcmom: Oh my goodness, how cute! Probably made for some adorable pictures! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/diddo-you-have-a-birth-plan#post-17336 Thu, 17 Nov 2011 13:46:47 +0000 themcmom 17336@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Navy_Mommy: Yes because we didn't know Wombat's gender until birth and we had to call the baby something other than baby. Wombat's are fiesty; we needed a baby who'd fight, so Wombat is was. We had bright green Team Wombat shirts too. It was awesome. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/diddo-you-have-a-birth-plan#post-17334 Thu, 17 Nov 2011 13:44:29 +0000 Navy_Mommy 17334@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@themcmom: Thanks so much! Did you really call the baby Wombat with your labor and delivery team? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/diddo-you-have-a-birth-plan#post-17330 Thu, 17 Nov 2011 13:39:44 +0000 themcmom 17330@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@eeh: I had a birth plan, but do agree that first time moms can go overboard with them. Mine was bullet points, approved by the doctors beforehand, and limited to a page and a half. It was important to me that which ever RN was assigned to me be able to read it quickly and understand that we wanted to know what was recommended by them because we were all part of the same team, not the enemy. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/diddo-you-have-a-birth-plan#post-17328 Thu, 17 Nov 2011 13:35:36 +0000 themcmom 17328@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Navy_Mommy: I just sent it to you. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/diddo-you-have-a-birth-plan#post-17257 Thu, 17 Nov 2011 11:28:11 +0000 Navy_Mommy 17257@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs. Marbles: That's awesome. My midwife encourages it since she can't guarantee who will be helping with the delivery.</p> <p>I've actually been "talking" (aka emailing - since he's deployed) about our birth plan with my husband and its funny cuz he didn't even know what an episiotomy is! I guess he's never even HAD to think about it, but I never would have guessed he had no idea what it was.</p> <p>If I wasn't working on a birth plan the poor guy would have been clueless, lol, but that's partly because he is gonna be gone until a few weeks before I'm due... </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/diddo-you-have-a-birth-plan#post-17241 Thu, 17 Nov 2011 11:11:05 +0000 eeh 17241@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Navy Mommy: I'm not saying they're new at all. However, I think there as been an undeniable increase in the number of written birth plans that are being presented to labor and delivery professionals over the last couple of years. I am all for educating yourself and making informed choices. But I've seen countless blog posts and comments on forums where it's almost like bullying (I absolutely hate this word and think its over/mis used but think it's appropriate here) the nurses into following their plans, or else... They also tend to talk about these professionals like they don't know what they're doing and don't have the best interest of their patients in mind. </p> <p>The trend I've noticed is that the long birth plans tend to come from first time mothers who don't know what to expect. The "repeat" mom's tend to be a little more laid back about it. </p> <p>For the record, I absolutely support being informed and educated and knowing your options when you're walking into something as important as labor and delivery. I also think it's 100% okay to express your preferences and wishes as they arise as long as it's done in a respectful instead of a list of demands. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/diddo-you-have-a-birth-plan#post-17218 Thu, 17 Nov 2011 10:36:37 +0000 Mrs. Marbles 17218@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Our OB doesn't believe in birth plans. She just wanted to know if I could or could not tolerate pain and thus, whether or not I wanted an epidural. Our hospital is very supportive of natural birth, which is the route I took, so not having a birth plan was not such a big deal. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/diddo-you-have-a-birth-plan#post-17216 Thu, 17 Nov 2011 10:32:04 +0000 Navy_Mommy 17216@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@eeh: You make it sound like birth plans are a "new" thing - my mom had a hand written birth plan when she had me and my sisters, lol. She educated herself by going to the library and reading books, and because of that she was the first woman to have a VBAC at that particular hospital with my older sister. She had to fight for it, everything turned out fine, and then her Ob-Gyn ended up looking like a hero even though he didn't want to do it!</p> <p>Just because its a doctor's (or nurse's) preference doesn't mean its what's right for you and your baby. If they have a problem with that and are talking down on patients who educate themselves, I think they chose the wrong field of medicine. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/diddo-you-have-a-birth-plan#post-17203 Thu, 17 Nov 2011 10:16:56 +0000 eeh 17203@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Navy_Mommy: I'm friends with several LDR nurses and they actually routinely roll their eyes and laugh at people who walk in with novels for birth plans. My thoughts are this: the doctors and nurses have gone through years of school, many training sessions, and deliver babies every day. I plan to educate myself throughout my pregnancy and then trust the trained professionals to do their job. </p> <p>I often think about how I would feel if someone walked into job and tried to tell me how to do it after reading some articles online. I went to school for 4 years, am licensed, trained, and experienced. I understand there are some differences between teaching and delivering a baby and it is a once in a lifetime experience to birth your child and you should be allowed to express your preferences but at the same time I think the whole "birth plan movement" has gotten a little out of hand. It's almost like the trained, licensed medical professionals have become the enemy and viewed as working against new parents. In reality, most of them are great people who love their jobs and want you to have a healthy, happy delivery. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/diddo-you-have-a-birth-plan#post-17110 Thu, 17 Nov 2011 01:39:14 +0000 MsMini 17110@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Navy_Mommy: I don't know why it happens, but it just seems like the longer and more stringent the birth plan, the more likely that mom is to have a c-section, it is just bad luck. The Mom's who come in with no expectations are the ones who usually have the smoothest births. It isn't a negative attitude, it is just the way things seem to go! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/diddo-you-have-a-birth-plan#post-17106 Wed, 16 Nov 2011 23:59:14 +0000 808love 17106@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Navy_Mommy: oh i agree..that's the unfiltered neg. comment. That's just what ends up happening often in her experience...She's not in labor and delivery if it makes u feel any better. She's the nurse in the other dept. after all is said and done. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/diddo-you-have-a-birth-plan#post-17095 Wed, 16 Nov 2011 23:19:12 +0000 Navy_Mommy 17095@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@808love: I actually think that's kinda horrible - it just seems like a bad attitude for a labor &amp; delivery nurse... </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/diddo-you-have-a-birth-plan#post-17085 Wed, 16 Nov 2011 23:05:08 +0000 808love 17085@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I had a birth plan written out early on but since the time came and I was wavering on everything so I told my husband, put it back in the bag--don't give it to the nurse. I really liked my birth plan. But I just decided I'd rather communicate the decisions to the nurses as it came up. I did go over it with the midwife a few months prior. I like that it was so concise with everything important on one page. I got some ideas from things I found on the web. I'm willing to share if you want it. </p> <p>My good friend is a young, yet experienced nurse in the Baby/Mom ward and she said the secret joke is that when mom's show up with a 40 page birth plan, they roll their eyes and say...uh-oh, here comes a c-section. Ok, you may not think that is funny. It actually worried me....so anyway, I made sure to fit it on one page. :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/diddo-you-have-a-birth-plan#post-16843 Wed, 16 Nov 2011 16:39:48 +0000 sandsandmore 16843@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My plan was to have the babies. Goal #1: both babies be born alive. Goal #2: both babies survive. I had a complicated pregnancy, so that's just how it went. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/diddo-you-have-a-birth-plan#post-16804 Wed, 16 Nov 2011 16:00:54 +0000 tequiero21 16804@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>i have no birth plan. i need to start looking into this. but i think i'm going to do c-section, so don't think there's much to write about. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/diddo-you-have-a-birth-plan#post-16761 Wed, 16 Nov 2011 15:25:06 +0000 L2sweetpea 16761@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We didn't have anything written, but had discussed our wishes and preferences with our midwife and OBGYN so they were aware. I also made sure my husband was fully aware of all of our wishes so that if I were to forget something he was there to pick up the slack. We ended up with a c-section scheduled 1 day before due to DD being breech, so we didn't really need one, but I was glad to have discussed all our options. They even gave us time prior to taking us in the OR to decide if we wanted to attempt to turn the baby or just do the c-section, which I thought was thoughtful too. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/diddo-you-have-a-birth-plan#post-16183 Tue, 15 Nov 2011 18:46:59 +0000 Mrs. D 16183@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We don't have one yet, and I don't know if we will. I'll wait to decide until closer to the end. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/diddo-you-have-a-birth-plan#post-16044 Tue, 15 Nov 2011 15:38:50 +0000 Navy_Mommy 16044@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@themcmom: No, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I can have a natural birth as well...my email is navywife224 at gmail dot com - thanks so much again!!! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/diddo-you-have-a-birth-plan#post-15914 Tue, 15 Nov 2011 11:58:38 +0000 cyneswith 15914@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'm going to have a midwife or a doula at my birth - they'll let me know if they need a birth plan, or if verbal instructions are enough. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/diddo-you-have-a-birth-plan#post-15812 Tue, 15 Nov 2011 09:57:57 +0000 themcmom 15812@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Navy_Mommy: I found an early one, but not the one we actually used. FYI: we wanted a natural birth, but, if you're going for meds, it'll still give you an example. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/diddo-you-have-a-birth-plan#post-15809 Tue, 15 Nov 2011 09:55:09 +0000 Mrsbells 15809@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I plan to have a written birth plan. I will discuss it with my OB and I'll also check out the template on The Bump </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/diddo-you-have-a-birth-plan#post-15790 Tue, 15 Nov 2011 09:24:17 +0000 Navy_Mommy 15790@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@themcmom: That would be awesome...if you can find it, lemme know! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/diddo-you-have-a-birth-plan#post-15789 Tue, 15 Nov 2011 09:22:24 +0000 themcmom 15789@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We had a birth plan, which we got approved by our doctors and midwives prior to birth. In it, we addressed medicine, c-section, food/water, cutting the cord, well, everything really and it was only a page and a half. It really helped us because our RN actually read it and went by it. If I can find it on my work computer, I can email it to you if you'd like. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/diddo-you-have-a-birth-plan#post-15738 Tue, 15 Nov 2011 05:48:24 +0000 Andrea 15738@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My plan was only to labor at home as long as possible and to get an epidural. That's about it so I stuck to that plan! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/diddo-you-have-a-birth-plan#post-15721 Tue, 15 Nov 2011 02:02:34 +0000 looch 15721@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I didn't have one in written form, but I did some reading and research and had a few ideas, like no interventions unless medically necessary, immediate skin to skin contact after birth and delayed cord clamping/cutting. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/diddo-you-have-a-birth-plan#post-15692 Mon, 14 Nov 2011 23:59:32 +0000 MsMini 15692@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I am not planning on it, I am pretty laid back about the whole thing, I work a lot with LDR (I am an NICU nurse), and I am open to any interventions that are necessary, so it would be pretty pointless. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/diddo-you-have-a-birth-plan#post-15647 Mon, 14 Nov 2011 21:38:26 +0000 runsyellowlites 15647@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I had one and swear as soon as we walked through the doors of the hospital it disappeared! </p> <p>I had talked through it with my doctor, who seemed to be pretty supportive of it, but as soon as it came to it everything was different. =(</p> <p>This time, since I'll be at home I don't really need one. =) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/diddo-you-have-a-birth-plan#post-15642 Mon, 14 Nov 2011 21:29:21 +0000 T.H.O.U. 15642@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I wrote out a birth plan and I think it was good for me to use with my husband to talk about what I wanted etc so that during labor he was able to help advocate for those things. There were a few points I wasn't sure on and didn't know hospital doctor policy so I went over those with them but never put anything in writing. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/diddo-you-have-a-birth-plan#post-15629 Mon, 14 Nov 2011 20:38:24 +0000 pelikila 15629@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Navy_Mommy: My OB said don't show up until you can no longer talk or do anything else during contractions, which should put me around 5cm. She said if I could get to 5cm before showing up then she'd require they put a hep lock in for emergencies but that I'd be allowed to walk around if I wanted and wouldn't require constant fetal monitoring. Every hospital and practitioner have their own requirements and rules so I'd definitely suggest checking with your doctor and hospital. When we did the hospital tour I asked the guide if things like fetal monitoring and IV fluids were required and she said it was up to the OB. I've heard of hospitals where things like those aren't up the OB and the hospital had its own policies that had to be followed. </p>