Childbirth Pages

Making Birth Plan

Making a birth plan is just one more way to have more control over your birth process and possible outcome. In one way, everything from choosing your doctor or care provider to whether you will have a midwife, what hospital, whether to homebirth, etc. comprise your birth plan, but writing out specific decisions and choices helps to direct your birth experience. Excellent advice from one source states the obvious up front:

Begin by choosing a Health care provider who will honor your desires!

Many decisions are unknowingly made for you in the first choice of the provider and birth environment . Unfortunately, some providers will agree to your wishes, only to have the higher priorities of the hospital policies overturn those agreements. Or last minute, unforeseen, changes in the attending physician could over ride previous plans; in any event a written plan and early important choices will help keep the experience on track.

I would divide the birth plan into two parts: the foundational choices of procedure and the secondary one of preferences in the environment to create the atmosphere. In the first part go answers to questions of episiotomy, vacuum/forceps assistance, anesthesia used, monitor interventions and how they impact the movement during labor or the birth position -many such decisions! The atmosphere of the birth environment might include such things as light conditions, whether music is played or videos are taken, who attends, and those types of plans.

The previously linked site has another wise statement to keep in mind: Remember a plan is just that, a written statement of your desires. The nature of birth is that it doesn't always go according to plan. It does have certain expected patterns and stages, and that is what makes a birth plan so valuable. Being prepared is a giant step to a happy, healthy outcome.

What much of a birth plan entails is "informed consent", written down a birth plan is a legal document stating your wishes. We have made advanced scientific advances, but the medical community should not usurp our personal responsibility, so we still must make informed decisions about our health care. Making your own outlined birth plan is your way of navigating the sometimes confusing labyrinth of birth procedures, and including meaningful ones of your own making. Because of pioneers like Lamaze, Bradley, and others, including women themselves, women have recovered much of their experience of birth as a natural and joyous part of life... full of the wonder and rich with the knowledge that they are participants in this important event, not just "passive patients" awaiting procedures. An important caveat is the reminder to be flexible; your decisions and choices are preferences, the mandate is the healthy outcome for you and your baby. Sometimes the birth does not go as planned, and the chosen physicians and attendants all are working together with you to insure a safe and healthy delivery; the birth plan helps everyone to include as many of your preferences as possible - because once you are in the process you are too busy with the experience to start arguing fine points, or overwhelmed by the need to stay focused on your own part to orchestrate others. A copy of your plan given to your midwife, and other care providers makes it easy to refer to the preferred choices and environment.

Look over the information and follow the links, a birth plan will be easy to compile from the many good resources to help you.

Helpful For Making Your Personal Birth Plan:

  • Midwives

    • and Doulas are immensely important in having a good birth experience in my opinion.

  • Labor and Delivery

    • have procedures and policies attached, particularly in a hospital birth. Know what they are and what their risks entail.

  • Labor Pain

    • is something we all want to minimize and personal preferences that calm and relax you are part of that goal

Good book on the subject is Creating Your Birth Plan: The Definitive Guide to a Safe and Empowering Birth by Marsden Wagner and Stephanie Gunning.

Informative Sites

  1. Childbirth Solutions, Birth Planning
  2. Interactive Birth Plan
  3. Lamaze Advice on Birth Plans
  4. Creating a Birth Plan- printable checklist