Birth Plans

How many of you ladies had one? If you did, how specific or how vague was it? How closely (or not!) did it turn out to how you wanted? I've been thinking about mine, and have made some notes, this is what I've got so far:


Notes for birth plan (& labour)

If possible:

* Water birth !!
* Possible use of aromatherapy
* Roland to cut cord if he wants to?
* Roland or Jax to do first nappy and first bath, even if c-section required
* Baby to be given straight to Jax for skin to skin contact with mum
* People to be present at labour and / or birth:

Jax (duh !), Roland, Jill (midwife), assistant 2 Jill (maybe), other support person for Jax (undecided).

* Location: Birthcare, Parnell
* Would prefer natural / spontaneous start to labour, but induction is OK if necessary
* Avoid episiotomy if possible, but also OK if necessary
* Possible burial of placenta (under tree to be planted @ home ?)

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So far, that's all I've got... am not rushed to finish it, and won't be doing one with my midwife until my next visit or the one after that I think.

Mine (generated from birthplan.com):

Labour
- I wish to be able to move around and change position at will throughout labour.
- I would like to be able to have fluids by mouth throughout the first stage of labour.

Monitoring
- I do not wish to have continuous foetal monitoring unless it is required by the condition of my son.

Labour Augmentation/Induction
- If labour is not progressing, I would like to have the amniotic membrane ruptured before other methods are used to augment labour.

Anaesthesia/Pain Medication
- I would like to have a standard epidural if I feel it necessary

Caesarean
- If a Caesarean delivery is indicated, I would like to be fully informed and to participate in the decision-making process.
- I would like my partner present at all times if my son requires a Caesarean delivery.
- If my son is not in distress, my son should be given to my partner immediately after birth.

Episiotomy
- I would prefer not to have an episiotomy unless absolutely required for the baby's safety.
- I would like a local anaesthetic to repair a tear or an episiotomy.

Delivery
- I would like to be allowed to choose the position in which I give birth, including squatting.
- I would like the chance to touch my son's head when it crowns.
- I would like to have my son placed on my stomach/chest immediately after delivery.

Immediately After Delivery
- I would like to have my partner cut the cord.
- I would prefer that the umbilical cord stop pulsating before it is cut.
- I would like to hold my son for at least fifteen minutes before he is examined, etc.
- If my son must be taken from me to receive medical treatment, my partner or some other person I designate will accompany my son at all times.
- I would like to donate the umbilical cord blood if possible.

Postpartum
- Unless required for health reasons, I do not wish to be separated from my son.
- I would like to have my son 'room in' and be with me at all times.

Breastfeeding
- I plan to breastfeed my son and would like to begin nursing very shortly after birth.
- Unless medically necessary, I do not wish to have any bottles given to my son (including glucose water or plain water).
- I do not want my son to be given a pacifier.

Circumcision
- I do not want my son circumcised.

It was nice in theory.. I ended up having continuous fetal monitoring (so couldn't walk around during labour), a syntocin IV, epidural, emergency c-s after 20 hours of labour, bottle fed supplementary formula from day 2 and gave him a pacifier. So much for plans!

Its good to have a general idea of what you want, but I wouldn't get too hung up on it. I don't regret any of the decisions made during my labour - my ultimate goal was to deliver a healthy baby, and that's what I got!

I didnt get a chance to do one with Kobe and everything I actually said I wanted to happen didnt or wasnt possible, such as didnt want epidural, needle in hand (not sure what its called) sturrups, catheter, wanted skin to skin etc so this time round I think Im just going to go with the flow. I will be ordering my epi the minute I go into hospital hehehe and will try to labour in the water and hopefully have some music playing if I remember but apart from that just whatever happens happens basically

something I remember from my birth plan qwas whether we wanted the kids given vitamen K injection ( i said ok) and if I wanted to spontaniously deliver the placenta, or to have it "induced", (I chose to "wait and see")

jax wrote: pixeldust - I *love* your plan, or at least the clarity with which it's set out, do you mind if I borrow some of the aspects of it? I'll check out birthplan.com as well though. Just curious as well, when you put down that you did not wish to have continuous foetal monitoring unless required by bubs condition, did you mean electronically? Bit of a dumb question but can't hurt to check

Go for it! I've used it, so if anyone else wants it they're more than welcome :)

With the fetal monitoring, because my waters broke and there were signs of meconium, they put the monitors on my stomach which kept me stuck to the bed. The monitors look like this. One monitors the baby heartrate in case of distress and the other monitors the contractions. Funny actually, because after I had the epidural, I kept watching the monitor because it was the only way to know when I had a contraction!

If you have them, you can't really move around, you need to be on your back in one position. The most I could do was shift from one side to another. And then I got the IV and epidural, which meant that even if I wanted to get up I couldn't. I had to go to the bathroom, and my legs gave out from under me. Thankfully my midwife caught me just as I was about to knock myself out on the sink. Then they put in a catheter. Ew.

Sorry pixeldust, but bugger that !

i had to have monitoring too but because i was a big lady the monitor kept moving so they had to monitor by attaching clips to the babys head, now thats eeewwww.

i had both kinds of monitoring the blets and the clips on james head not the most comfortable but its what they gotta do

OK my birth plan and the actual birth were TOTALLY different,

Had the "natural" side of things (gas if I HAD to, nothing else), aromatherepy, music, water birth etc etc

I said to my midwife (as I had toxemia) that it was up to her to make the decisions and everything was out of my hands...

I was on the foetal monitor and the one attached to bub's head, IV (and 4 litres of fluid that went nowhere!) went in the bath for 5 mins and got out again, couldn't walk, was on gas constantly for about 6 hours, pethadine (threw up) and epidural (got the epidural headache). But the upside is I only pushed ofr 16 mins and she was out... She wasn't breathing though and had to be resussed then David got to hold her first (I wanted skin to skin) - didnt get to see her for 30 mins. Oh and did the placenta thing naturally

So my advice - go in with your birth plan but with an open mind that things may go wrong.

thats what i did aswell lenabenz i put it in my midwifes hands and only talk to her about my brith plan 2 weeks before i had him