birth plans...

[AmandaV]

This is a question for women who have already given birth one or more times.

I'm wondering if any (or all) of you had a birth plan in place before you went to the hospital (or where ever you gave birth) and how many of you were able to actually carry out every aspect of your plan?

I'm a first timer who's getting down to the wire and although I will have some sort of 'plan' in place, I want to know just how realistic I should be about bringing it to fruition

Thanks!

Amanda

PS: For Cathe - how did your last appointment go? Well, I hope. I have my next this friday. I've begun measuring my belly and as of today I'm 41" around!

 

[ebh87]

Hi Amanda,
My suggestion would be to have a birth plan ready, but be prepared to be flexible about it "just in case". Also, obviously, decide ahead of time if you are going to breast/bottle feed, pacifier/no pacifier, bottles/no bottles, etc and make sure this goes on your baby's chart.
With my first pregnancy, I had decided not to use any pain meds, but changed my mind and got an epidural. I wasn't in unbearable pain, but I was vomiting constantly and was told the epidural could help with that - it did and I was very happy with how the rest of my labor and delivery went. With my second pregnancy (twins), I didn't have a birth plan because I was pretty sure I would have a C-Section because of the way the babies were positioned (transverse and breech). I ended up having a placental abruption and had an emergency C-Section a month early. That was a total shock and it was hard for me to deal with the fact that I had two premature babies because I was expected to go full term.
HTH,
Erica

 

[AlisonK]

Hi Amanda,

I think Erica gave you some great advice already so I will just try to add a little. When I was pregnant with my son I took childbirth classes from a strong advocate for natural birth and using birth plans. I made my plan up and took it with me. Unfortunately, pretty much everything went the opposite of my plan as far as the birth. I had alot of complications that I just had no idea would happen. It really threw me for a loop. The women who taught the class really gave a false impression that almost all births go just according to the plan. I think many births are absolutely smooth and wonderful but there are also so many variables that come into play. Thankfully, the doctors did the right things and my son was healthy. The downside for me was that I really should have had a c-section. I think maybe it would have been done had I not had this opinion that I wanted c-section to be the absolute last resort. I ended up with many complications.

So my two cents after everything I went through are that birth plans are great especially regarding care of the baby. Having your wishes stated makes it much easier for everyone. I don't know if it has to be a formal document but I would definitely have your husband have a list prepared so that he can be the voice for both of you. As for the plan for the actual birth, I would think of it more as a wish list. Be ready to be flexible. Trust the doctors to know what is best for the health of you and your baby. If things don't go according to your ideas try not to be upset. Think of the end result that is most important: a healthy baby and a healthy mom!

There was one thing I was advised to ask for with my son which turned out great. It was suggested to request that they not give the baby the eyedrops for a couple hours instead of right after the birth. This way the baby can keep his/her eyes open and see clearly. I did this with my son and it was amazing to see how he just stared at me and my husband. That is something I will request again this time.

Hopefully my ramblings will help. I have always wanted to use the lessons Ive learned to help other moms have as good experience as they can instead of being disapointed that their expectations did not get met. I wish you a healthy easy delivery and a beautiful healthy baby!

Alison

 

[Cathe Friedrich]

Hi Amanda! I can't give any advise on the birth plan since Eric arrived just under a month early on the day that I was up north having a baby shower thrown for me. I was quickly taken to a hospital up north and needless to say, there was no birth plan followed.

As for my last check up, to my surprise I only gained one pound. I expected at least a four pound gain with how my cravings for juice have been going. In any case my appointments are now every two weeks (as I'm sure yours are too) so next Friday I will find out how much more growth has occured.

How are you doing?

 

[Hazel]

I agree with Alison. You can put as much detail as you want into your birth plan, but don't expect that it will be followed to the letter (or maybe even at all!). Especially with your first, it's just too hard to know what to expect, so it's best to remain flexible so you won't be disappointed if the plan goes out the window at the moment of truth.

It seemed to me that the birthing teacher wanted us to prepare a plan that was 3 or 4 pages long. I thought that was totally unrealistic for someone who had never given birth before. I decided I would only insist on those things I felt particularly strongly about, and those were (1) having an epidural when the pain got too intense; and (2) not having an episiotomy if at all possible. I actually was able to realize both those goals (well, that epidural didn't come fast enough for my taste!), but nothing else about labor and delivery was even remotely like what I had envisioned, so I'm personally glad that I didn't put any additional requirements in there. After all, what's most important is the end result -- a healthy, happy baby and mom!

 

[AmandaV]

Thanks everyone for responding - there were some things mentioned that I didn't think about that I will definitely include in our plan, like the idea about holding off on the eyedrops for awhile, not giving the baby a pacifier, etc.

I'm hoping the labor plan will go smoothly BUT will try not to be disappointed if it doesn't - after all, as long as baby and I come out of this healthy...

Thanks again!

AmandaVL