Writing a birth Plan

Know your options

The first step in writing a birth plan is to find out what your options are.

Educate yourself about the options that are available. The ideal would be to attend childbirth education classes, a Midwife or Doula. Start the dialog.

Once you know what options are available to you, it is important to determine how you feel about the options. Some things will be very important, and others will seem small or unimportant. There is no right or wrong, it is simply a matter of understanding who you are and how you want things handled.

Your Birth Plan should be about expressing your hopes and expectations of how your labour and delivery should occur.

What are some of the things to put on your plan?

Starting or Speeding Labor-Do you want to be induced? Do you want medication to speed up labour?
Monitoring Labor- Do you want to be hooked up to a monitor or able to walk around?
Pain Relief-Do you want to use natural methods like relaxation and water or an epidural?
Positions-Sitting/walking/in bed?
Baby Care-Partner to cut cord? Breastfeed in delivery room?

So can you get what you want?
Investigate hospitals or birthing centres in your area,take your plan with you.
 Are they going to accommodate your wishes?
Does your partner/doula/midwife support your wishes?
If you have made choices that are not possible you need to reevaluate your decisions.

Regardless of the circumstances of your labor, use your birth plan to help you determine how you will react to labor.

I personally like to think of the Birth Plan as a wish list an expression of what I would prefer.

Ultimately a live healthy baby and mother are the most important outcome!

Put it into perspective when you apply for  a job has anybody ever asked your if you were born by vaginal delivery or Cesarean? Things can happen in labour.

My own birth plan was to have a home delivery preferably in water with my midwife.

I ended up as an emergency Cesarean after getting to 10cm dilated (ready to deliver)
Creating your Birth Plan