Crafting Your Birth Plan: Keep It Simple!
When it comes to your birth plan, clarity is key. Your birth plans should be clear and concise. It serves as a communication tool between you and your partner, and y’all and your care provider. Remember, your birth plan is not set in stone but a way to express your preferences.
Think about what you want for your labor. Picture it. What do you see? Some things to think about:
Who is in the room?
What position are you in?
Do you have an IV?
Do you want your nurse to offer pain medication or wait for you to ask for it?
What do you want the room to look like?
Do you want to eat and drink?
Do you want to labor in the bath or shower?
What comfort measures do you want to utilize?
Do you want constant monitoring or intermittent?
Think about what you want your pushing phase to be like.
What position do you want to push in?
Do you want people counting while you’re pushing?
Do you want an episiotomy?
Is your partner going to catch the baby? Or you? Or your care provider?
Who will announce the sex of your baby?
Will you do delayed cord clamping?
Who cuts the cord?
Do you want immediate skin-to-skin?
Do you want the baby taken away to a warmer or have everything be done on your chest?
Will you encapsulate your placenta?
Think about postpartum.
Do you want help initiating breastfeeding?
Do you want your baby given formula?
Do you want vitamin K, Hepatitis B, or eye ointment?
Will you circumcise?
Do you want your baby swaddled right away?
Will you wash your baby?
Will your baby be taken away to the nursery?
Unless you plan to go viral with a hilarious birth plan, it’s best to keep it simple. Using bullet points with simple phrases is easiest to read. To make it even simpler, use Yes, Please and No, Thank You columns to express your desires.
Start big. Put everything you want and don’t want on your birth plan. Take that plan to your care provider and go over everything point by point. There might be things on your plan that your care provider already does or doesn’t do. You might not need to put those things on your plan. Or, if you disagree with your care provider about a certain want/don’t want, then that gives you a great opportunity to openly communicate with them about your preferences.
Remember, your birth plan is a tool for open communication, not a rigid contract. Discuss your preferences with your partner and care provider, and be prepared to be flexible as labor unfolds.
Ultimately, your bottom line goal is a safe and positive birth experience for you and your baby.
Creating a clear and concise birth plan using a Yes/No format ensures that your preferences are communicated effectively and helps you feel more in control during labor and birth.
If you have any questions about why you would want or not want certain things on your birth plan, consider taking a childbirth class. I have several options to choose from and would love to help you have an amazing birth.