Hellobee Boards

I thought it was unnecessary. I had 100% trust that my dr would pursue the best course of action for me. I had a great labor and delivery both times.

Totally went in with your attitude. They gave us a piece of paper to fill out for our birth plan in the hospital class. I left it at home and told the nurses that I wanted an epi and if the doctor thinks something is needed, we'll follow his lead. I'm no medical professional and all I wanted was a healthy baby.

Nope. Not necessary, and didn't even fill one out the second time.

I had a page long birth plan but everyone that looked at it summed it up as "ok, no drugs." I think I could have just told them that.

Nope! I got there and the nurses asked me if I had one. I said yes, epidural and healthy Mom and baby. They said that the is best kind of plan.

I had no birth plan and the whatever doctor thinks is best attitude too. She was happy cause she said alot of times things don't go as planned anyway. I think the only thing I mentioned to her at one of my appointments was that I wanted the epidural. I had a pretty rough delivery, but no amount of planning would have changed it.

@ineebee: my birth plan was "do what you as medical professionals think is best." and you know what I have no regrets, they know more than I do! OH and it was "I want drugs" ha

We didn't have one, but the nurses and midwives were very interested in our wishes, which we were able to communicate to them without an actual birth plan. I ended up having to be induced with pitocin, so part of my mental "birth plan" went out the window anyways. But regardless, they were still very interested in what we were wanting out of the birth, so I don't think a birth plan was necessary.

I didn't have a written plan but did go through my preferences with my midwife during the latter stages of my pregnancy.

My birth plan was "healthy mom, healthy baby". Whatever it took to get there was fine with me. My dr knew I wanted an epidural and had no problem with a c section if deemed necessary. And my husband wanted to cut the cord. We just relayed this to our dr., no formalities.

@ineebee: I felt the same as you. I also felt that if I had a formal birth plan and something went awry, I would just feel disappointed. Nothing ever goes as planned and I fully trust the medical team to make the best decisions for my baby and I.
That being said, I was also ready to object to anything I really was uncomfortable with. Like when I was induced for some reason the idea of a foley catheter to help me dilate was terrifying. Irrational pregnant woman So I told them that and stuck to my guns and they said it was ok, I didn't have to.
So I think if you go in trusting your docs to make decisions AND to listen to you when necessary, you'll be ok.

I had one and it ended up being completely unnecessary. Everything I said I didn't want ended up happening, but that's because it was what became necessary to keep LO safe. Trusting your doctors/nurses is definitely the most important thing!

Similar to pp's, mine was to get her out as quick and safely as possible. I said I was open to any pain relief and we'd discuss it at the time.

I think most L&D nurses think of them as a joke. Atleast in my experience working at my hospital. I was confident that my midwives were on my same page so it all worked out!

Def not necessary.

Mine was very helpful. The doc and res and nurses all read it right in front of me and we discussed it. It gave them a chance to communicate with me about those things. It went great.

I'm starting one but only because I have a horrible memory and want it written down so I don't forget. It only has three things on the list so far. (I want access to a mirror, I want to see the placenta and I want to be able to cut the cord (or try) if DH declines). I've thought about the other stuff but I don't have strong preference.

The first time I wrote one. I has some health problems that I wanted to make sure the nurses knew about. It was helpful to write out.

What was more helpful the second time was really talking things through with my husband. But I had the benefit of experience to be able to do that.

I didn't write one out the second time. We told the L&D nurses to please not offer an epidural since it failed with my first birth and that we wanted to delay cord clamping. That was all!

I think it's good to separate out what you and your DH need to know and what your nurses will need to know. They don't need to know you plan on cold washcloths or back rubs. They do need to know if you are team green and want your DH to announce the sex!

We wrote one. We planned a home birth, and in case of a transfer, certain protocol was very important to us. If I was planning a hospital birth, I would just ask my OB or midwife what their standard policies are. If they were different than my preferences, I'd have a simple plan written. For instance: birth "plan" for my midwives was "nothing past periodic Doppler tones" ... I delivered the baby into my husband's hands, then they took over. If we were at the hospital, I would have written: "periodic monitoring only. Delayed cord clamping. Skin to skin immediately. Pending no emergencies." -- that's it. There are some really intense birth plans, and I think they are a little overkill. No matter where you give birth, you should trust they will take amazing care of you.

I didn't write one, but the hospital I went to and the OBGYN I saw were linked through an on-line system, so my wishes/preferences/allergic reactions, etc. were in the system on my arrival and in my chart. DH was on the same page as me regarding C-sections (avoid if possible, but not objected to if needed), so I didn't see the need.