My doctor asked me to prepare mine and bring it to my next appointment - I was surprised!
ETA: I have one semi-prepared, but I didn't expect my doctor to ask for it and review it with me. I'm happy she asked!
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They asked, I did. We looked it over, and then tucked it away. I discussed everything with DH before going in and was able to articulate what I needed, so it wasn't necessary.
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I did for G, but it was disregarded as soon as I was admitted.
With P, since I was at home, my MW & I were on the same page throughout my pregnancy on my desired birth plans... no written plan necessary.
ETA: I do think it's VERY important to be informed about your doctor's & hospitals common practices, what you're willing to do/use, & in what situations are you willing to use them ie. a breast pump for nipple stimulation over automatic pitocin, etc. So many moms have a plan BUT don't think about how the want the "what ifs" handled.
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I had ideas in my head of what I did and didn't want, and I told DH about them but no real "plan". It was mostly more about no pacifiers or bottles unless medically necessary, DH stays with baby at all times, restricted visitors, want an epidural if I ask, no c-section for "time" reasons, only emergencies etc....
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My only plan was the epidural! Haha
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my birth plan was to have a healthy baby! ha.
but no - my doc didn't ask for one and I wasn't going to plan one out because I just don't think birth can be planned. I was also pro-epidural.
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My birth plan was epidural is a must and c-section if absolutely necessary. I had a vaginal birth with an amazing epidural started about an hour after I was admitted.
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I did with DD; I didn't need one with DS, since it was the same hospital, same doctors, and I knew what I wanted.
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I did, and the drs stuck to it during my labor. I didn't want an epidural and didn't even want to be asked about pain meds and they were great about that. At one point I asked them why they were doing a warm compress during the pushing and they told me it was in my birth plan...I had totally forgotten! haha.
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I didn't with Deere Boy because he was born at home and like @runsyellowlites, was on the same page as my midwife. It may have been a good idea to have one in place, should have I needed to be transferred and/or a c-section, but I didn't expect to be and I didn't need to be.
With Tractor Girl being a planned hospital birth, I did have a list of preferences written up. Mostly to the effect of, "I trust my body, you should too, I can handle the pain by myself and if I can't, I'll do the asking, and just leave me the f**k alone because it's gonna work, dammit!" Lol. And stating that we wouldn't be consenting to any shots or eye ointment. I also had a separate list of preferences, just in case a c-section was warranted.
I don't think birth can be planned, but I do believe that if you just let me alone, it will happen just fine. And I think it's dumb that we should have to ASK for that in many hospital settings. And then often get looked down on for being too "picky," when all we want is the same trust and respect in and for our bodies from others that we have for ourselves. Lol, rant much? -
Yes, but then I had to have an emergency induction, so all of my preferences were unavailable. My birth plan never came out of my bag.
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I did. I even brought it to the hospital. When the admitting nurse was asking if I wanted any pain medication DH pulled out the folder and I waved it away. I was happy I sat down and did it because it really helped narrow down my ideal birth preferences. I called it my Birth Preferences, and prefaced it by saying "In an ideal, normally progressing labor..." but I got thrown several curve balls during labor and just went with it.
There were definitely some things I hadn't wanted (like an episiotomy), but I also know (and DH confirms) that my OB did everything he could do to avoid it (at least an hour of oil, massaging and warm compresses--episiotomies are no longer standard practice at my hospital) but when push came to shove (heh) he needed to get DS out super fast, so he cut.
Anyway, I'm glad I wrote it up, for me, but in the end I just trusted that my doctor was doing what was best for me and DS.
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@grizz: Yes, I did but a few days before delivery, I chucked it.
I figured, as long as baby is healthy and happy and HERE. -
Yes although i never got to take it out of my bag due to complications. But i had discussed it with her prior and she was very accommodating. I will definitely stick with her for baby number 2
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Not a written one...the birth center I had planned to give birth at had standards that were my birth plan.
Of course, it all went out the window, and at that point it doesn't really matter so much.
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mine was to have a healthy baby. i didn't have one, and if i did, it would not have happened.
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I did but didn't use it when the time came (had to be induced/on an IV the whole time.)
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Didn’t have one. I trusted my OB and her team (and the hospital and its team) to act in my and LO’s best interests. They’re the professionals, I was a novice! I also didn’t care how LO entered the world, and in general I’m a very laid back person so going in with a typed up formal document wasn’t really my style.
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Nope-I was flexible and just wanted the baby out safely. Everyone was really good about asking if I wanted stuff before they did it to me and explaining stuff to me, anyways.
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Does having a birth plan make it easier for your ob? If so, i'll be happy to come up with a more definitive plan for her, but if it's for my benefit, my plan is: trust the doc and go with the flow!
in a perfect world, i'll go into labor naturally, go unmedicated and push this kid out. but we all know this isnt a perfect world, so i trust that whatever happens, it's in the best interest of the baby & my health, and im ok with that. -
My plan was healthy baby and epidural.
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I did. because I had a bleeding disorder my specialist had input on my birth plan as well but that mainly included what I WASN"T allowed during labor - eg. epidural, fetal scalp monitoring, forceps, if a csection was required then I was only allowed general anesthetic. And my midwife put in such things as: delayed cord clamping, immediate skin to skin. It came in handy since the hospital staff actually read it and knew what I wanted.
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Yep and I gave it to my doula. She passed it around to the nurses at the hospital. They were surprisingly supportive and followed my wishes.
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I don't. I was told they're going to give me a packet to fill out soon, and I assume that's what it's going to be. I really have a few things I'm concerned with. Mainly, while I do want an epidural I don't want any other pain killers like morphine, percocet, etc - I get violently ill. Also, I want to specify who is allowed to see me when, because some family, though well meaning, can get a bit pushy.
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I had certain things I knew I'd question if they came up. But my practice was very flexible and clear on why they were doing certain things, and I knew their rates of episiotomy/induction/c-section were quite low. The only thing I specifically asked for was an iv in a place convenient for breastfeeding. My hospital automatically does one hour of kangaroo care. I would have questioned internal fetal monitoring but it never came up. The whole thing was very much on my page and everybody was quite clear about the need for specific things. For example my epidural slowed down my contractions so I was 10 cm for several hours but the baby still wasn't low enough so my midwife finally ordered pitocin but they explained that since I was already so far along and had an epidural, it wouldn't cause any problems (it didn't, and did the trick).
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@LazyLightning: Family members/visitors are one of the main reasons I'm doing a birth plan. My ILs are super pushy! My biggest fear is that I'll end up with a c-section and be wheeled back into the room to the sight of them passing our baby around.
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nope. wanted to try natural, but wanted epi when i asked for it. wanted skin to skin and for dh to cut the cord; these were all pretty standard at our hosp, so no need.
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I had a birth plan for both LOs. First one, I was able to share the birth plan. Second one, the birth plan never made it out of my hospital notebook in my hospital bag - she came too fast!
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