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I found a GREAT birth plan from a mom on another forum! If I were having a hospital birth then I'd totally use it, and if for some reason I end up transferring I will be using her cesarean & post delivery sections....
I know MANY moms go in saying that no/little birth plan is better "just in case" things don't go as planned but I've found that if you start with no intervention then you're less likely to need intervention.
So here it is:
•GENERAL
All medical intervention must be approved by myself of husband before doing.
Husband is to remain with baby at all times should any issues arise.
•INDUCTION
First methods used should be membrane sweep and/or breaking water.
Would prefer to try a foley bulb before actual medication to help dilate.
Absolutely under not circumstances should Cytotec ever be given.
•C-SECTION
Will only be performed as an absolute emergency last resort. (ie. they must get in there and get baby out ASAP, none of this "oh, we will prep you and have him out before the end of the hour).
Husband is to be with me at all times during procedure.
After baby is pulled out, husband is to be with him at all times.
If possible, try to bring placenta out so that cord clamping/cutting can be delayed. If that's not possible, at least try for 1 minute delay.
•LABOR
Do not offer pain medication, instead offer advice on different labor ing positions and breathing techniques.
Hep-lock instead of IV...I will hydrate on my own.
Intermittent fetal monitoring with Doppler.
No catheter.
•DELIVERY
Natural pushing, no coaching (I'll push when I feel like it and not, "Push, 2,3,4...").
Able to birth in whatever position I feel most comfortable in.
No episiotomy, I'll tear naturally.
Baby's shoulders should be birthed on their own, not pulled out.
Avoid forceps/vacuum if at all possible.
•POST DELIVERY (me)
No Pitocin to remove placenta unless abnormal amount of bleeding requires it, must get permission to do so first.
No pulling of placenta, let it deliver naturally.
I would like a local if a tear occurs for stitches.
•POST DELIVERY (baby)
Baby placed immediately on my chest.
Umbilical cord to stop pulsating before clamping and cutting.
No tests until after first feeding/golden hour.
No Vitamin K shot
No eye ointment
Do not bath baby
Baby exclusively breastfed- no formula, no bottle, no pacifier, no sugar water.
All exams to be done in either my or my husbands presence.
I used this worksheet to start my birth plan, and then added/subtracted some stuff after my first discussion of it with my doctor. In my experience, unless you have something really specific or unique in your birth plan, the best use for a birth plan is in discussion with your medical provider BEFORE birth. He/she can tell you what is realistic and what is supported at your birthing place, and your medical provider should also put a copy in your file, so you don't have to worry about communicating your wishes during labor.
Here's mine. It's for a Bradley Birth, so you may not be interested in it if you don't want a drug-free birth.
McBride and McHusband's Wishes for the Birth of Wombat:
Hi and thanks for being part of our Birth Team. We've taken a 12 week long Bradley Birth Course to prepare us for a natural labor and delivery. McHusband achieved his Coach's Card and will guide McBride through the labor and delivery. Below is our plan and wishes for what we hope the birth to be, some of the bullets are the choices we will make if asked. We wrote it so that, if there are any questions or concerns with the points, we can have an open conversation about them before we are in labor.
Labor:
Monitoring:
Augmentation/Induction
Anesthesia - Pain Medication
Caesarean:
Episiotomy
Delivery
Post Delivery
Post Partum
Did everyone end up following their birth plan? Everyone I know IRL scrapped theirs. i didn't have a birth plan, so I have no opinion either way, just curious.
@flamingred: I tried, but couldn't get my hospital to uphold it.... AT ALL... from the minute I walked through the doors they pretty much scrapped it. In the end I caved b/c I just couldn't fight with them anymore. =/ I was pretty upset about how they were.
Otherwise... as long as I was at home (17 hours) my birthplan went as planned.
If I had another round, I'd have a doula to help me advocate my wishes.
@amnystik: That is terrible. Did they even ask you if you had one?
@ThefutureMcBride-Great job! I havent been on here recently, but I was wondering how everything went.
@flamingred: Parts of mine were followed exactly (like immediate skin to skin contact and waiting to clamp the umbilical cord); other parts I compromised on (like getting an epidural). It changed pretty drastically between my first draft and my final draft, though, so there were a lot of revisions.
@flamingred: I gave one to every nurse that came through the door AND the doctor that was there (since it wasn't "my" ob). I was younger (19) at the time & my DS's dad wasn't much help either.... I knew quite a bit about natural birth on my own but wasn't prepared for the hospital trying to "throw their weight around".... I had that I didn't want pain meds & I SWEAR the nurse asked me if I wanted something AS SOON as she had my IV in (which I "HAD" to have) and then continued to ask me 10 more times before she left the room. Like I said, I ultimately caved & regretted so later b/c that just led to them pushing other things. =(
This time if I end up transferring to the hospital, my midwife will be with us so I know that won't happen.
@TheFutureMcBride: Love it! I've only ever heard of the Bradley method, but I'm not familiar with it. But I as well am going for a natural birth. I'm not too worried about anyone compromising my birth plan because I'm using a birth center and most of these practices are standard for them (waiting to cut the cord, immediate skin-to-skin, little to no cervical exams, only external monitoring etc). So I'm not too worried. But they want a birth plan on hand too.
@flamingred: From what I've heard, it really depends on where you give birth, or what type of dr you have. At my birth center, every woman's has been followed basically, except in the event of an emergency transfer, and even then, the midwife stays with them. But you are right, most of my friends said they wanted to try natural and always ended up getting and epidural.
@amnystik: I remember you sharing your birth story with your son here and there around the boards. It's so awful that so many doctors won't respect women's wishes, they just brush them off as ignorant. I'm sorry!!
My OB/midwife practice gives patients a birth plan where you can check off what you want/don't want (you check off which positions you want to push in, pain medications you're ok with/what conditions you would accept pain medication if any, etc.). It seems like mine got thrown out when we cleaned our stuff out of the labor room, so I can't cover it all here. But it might be worth asking your healthcare provider if they have birth plan worksheets to give you.
@flamingred: My labor nurses and the OB delivering me looked over my plan, and followed it. The OB questioned a few of the things I wrote in ("Why are you opposed to cytotec?"), but she followed it. The only thing that went off plan was the epidural wearing off or being turned off when it came time to push-- mine wore off around the time I hit 10cm +2, and I had to fight hard (and lost) on getting the epidural re-done at that point. I refused to push until they did something though, so they gave me a topper that did absolutely nothing-- I was still in lots of pain. My labor & delivery weren't ideal, but overall, did it all go according to my wishes in my birth plan-- yes.
Here is a birth plan form to fill out. Click on 'example birth plan' on the right. http://www.sogc.org/health/pregnancy-birth-plan_e.asp
(For Canadian bees, the standards of practice are listed on the main part of this link...it all seems really progressive. Yay Canada.)
@red_seattle: they asked why you were opposed to cytotec? Wasn't that one lady and her baby dying from it enough to not even ask anymore? I thought most doctors weren't even using it since that incident.
@miss-spunkin: They actually use it quite a bit still! *gasp* I recently saw another mom that was being induced (medically needed) but her doctor told her they were going to use cytotec... I strongly urged her to request use of something else. The scary part was that quite a few moms came on later saying that they had been induced with cytotec and they were "just fine" =/
@amnystik: oh my gosh I had no idea! The news that I had heard made it seem like no one really used it, just that the government hadn't taken action against the drug yet. Well good to know!
@miss-spunkin: My doctors used it too so I sent them the information from the FDA about what it can do. I told them that I wasn't trying to tell them how to do their jobs because I'm not a doctor, I was just sharing what I read. I don't know what they did with the information, but I did what I could.
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I was wondering if some of you moms would be willing to share your birth plan?
I am starting to think about writing my birth plan and I don't even know where to start or exactly what I want. I'd love some inspiration from other moms!