There is a number of things that should be considered when you are creating your birth plan, and I need to be honest with you. This is the part that you will not be super happy about! NO ONE IS GOING TO READ YOUR THESIS ON YOUR BIRTH. There, I said it. This is what I have seen when it comes to those two and three-page birth plans. First things first, you have spent hours researching and planning exactly how you want your birth to be, and you put it into a three-page document that you will bring to your birth. Here is what will happen, and I speak from experience. You will hand this to your birth team, and they will glance over it, put it on their desk, which is right next to where they are charting, and will not look at it again, and will bombard you with questions throughout the entirety of your birth.
I create a visual birth plan for my clients. Here’s why I wanted it to have their preferences in the form of icons or pictures. I wanted a document that can be hung on the whiteboard so that when there is a shift change or a provider change, it is right there accessible, and everyone can see it, the best part is that no one has to ask you the same questions 100.000 times. That way you can focus on laboring, and not on answering the same questions over and over again.
As a doula, we are going to complete this during our first prenatal meeting. This is for a couple of reasons. First, it helps me to understand what you know, and what you don’t. What things you need more information on, it also gives me an idea if a childbirth education class would be helpful. In all honesty, I don’t care if you take mine, but please take one. Even if this is not your first pregnancy. We have seen so many changes over the years, and protocols change. Taking a childbirth education class is one way that you will know what to expect, and how to make the best choices for you and your family.
Here are a few things that you should consider: (not a complete list)
Are you keeping your placenta (it’s yours, you can)
Plans for eye ointment.
Circumcision
Epidural
Medication or no medication
No bath for baby
Nitrous
Birth Environment
Music/no music
Type of birth (hyno-birth)
VBAC
These are just a sample of some of the topics to consider. Here is another thing that I want you to think about. Please include a postpartum plan. Spend as much time planning for the birth of your baby , planning for post-partum. Have conversations about what type of support will be helpful to your family. Would a post-partum doula be helpful? Do you know an IBCLC(International Board Certified Lactation Consultant) HOw many people will you allow to visit your baby in their first few weeks of life? Have you done any meal prep? Trust me when I say, tensions can run high when you first bring you baby home. There is feeding, diapers, and sometimes not a lot of sleep. Having theses conversations before you have the baby is critical.
I’m here if you need any support, and you are going to do great things!!
XOXO-Holly