Congratulations on your pregnancy! We hope you are very excited. You’re probably finding yourself to be pretty busywith doctor appointments, midwife visits, baby showers and small announcement parties with family and friends and if you are still working your days will be jam-packed.
Make sure you give yourself some breathing room and settle down to plan things for the big day. Get your hospital bag prepped, do a little research if you fancy it, calm some nerves and, importantly, get your birth plan together.
To get you started, here are some ideas of what to include in your birth plan.
H2: Medical Info
Whether you are having a natural birth in a hospital or at home or having a c-section, having somewhere easy to access medical info can be a lifesaver.
First up, for natural births, it’s a good idea to know how you would like to deal with pain management. If you want to try going without for a long time have that noted, if you have any allergies to certain medications note that down. If you want an epidural your doctor should already know but it is also good to have it on hand just in case on the day things get muddled.
There is also the question of what you want to do with your placenta and the umbilical cord. Some individuals are happy with the hospital to just dispose of and in this case, you won’t necessarily need to say anything. If you want to keep it, donate it, or have made arrangements for it to be privately collected and stored note the details down. Keeping everyone on the same page about this can save trouble later down the line.
H2: People
Other than the required medical staff you have a decent amount of control over who you want in your room with you.
Alongside the obvious names of your midwife and/or doula and of course, your doctor, have your birth partner’s name, emergency contact and maybe some other family members who might be there to visit you. Make sure you say who can see you when you are in labour so you don’t have a constant stream of random people and your birth partner can advocate for you.
On top of that make sure you let people know how much interaction you want after the baby is born. If you want to have some time to rest, have some precious quiet movements with just you and baby not it down that people shouldn’t be let in to see you immediately. Communicate this with your potential visitors but in these exciting times, people can forget the game plan.
Lay it out in black and white for safety.
H2: Environment
This is key to keeping you happy and making your birth experience run as smooth as possible.
Lay out what you want. If you want the lights dimmed or some specific music being played, obviously remember to bring items with you to make this happen but having it in the birth plan means they are less likely to be forgotten and more likely to happen.
H2: Flexibility
No matter what, having some backup plans in place should plan to go astray. Say you have to have an emergency c-section, have it noted how you want this to be dealt with. Perhaps you want to go medication free but it is suggested to you by the doctor, know what you are comfortable using.
This birth plan is yours to be in total control of so add all the details you see fit. Even if you think it is an obvious fact or something small but important to you, include it. Make the birth plan work for you.
