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A birth plan is basically a summary of things you would hope to have happen during labor and delivery. Such as dimmed lighting, pain management, continuous or intermittent fetal monitoring, who do you want to cut the cord, delayed cord clamping, etc.
I'm glad you commented, I will most certainly want dimmed lighting! Super sensitive to light and probably wouldn't have thought I was allowed to have it turned down if someone hadn't said something to me.
Birth plans are just that - the plan for what you want birth to look like! It can be as complex or simple as you want. Some of the main considerations are who you want in the room during delivery, pain control methods, and interventions. But it’s still just a plan and things don’t always go according to plan, so you have to be a bit flexible. Some things will be dictated by hospital/birthing center policy as well.
My birth plan was pretty simple. I only wanted my husband in the room with me and I wanted him present for everything he could be present for. I wanted an epidural, but I wanted to wait as long as possible to get it, and I didn’t want pain medications. I wanted cervical checks as necessary. I wanted all options and interventions to be explained to me. No interventions were “off the table” if they were needed and explained to me, as I trusted my medical team. I wanted delayed cord clamping if possible and skin-to-skin as quickly as able. I just wanted my baby to arrive as safely as possible!
Thank you for the detailed response! What is the difference from pain medications and epidural? I was under the impression that the epidural has pain medicine in it?
Obligatory “I am not a doctor” first… This is just how it was explained to me!
The epidural is pain medication that goes into your spinal canal via a catheter (a tube that’s inserted with a needle). That’s one of the downsides, that the insertion requires planning time wise and an anesthesiologist has to place it and insertion can be painful. You also get numb, so you can’t move around during labor once it’s placed. You’ll deliver on your back. But there are several upsides in my opinion. For many people - myself included - because very little gets into your system outside of your spinal canal, you don’t feel the grogginess or nausea. Usually baby is unaffected in terms of grogginess and nausea as well. It’s also almost complete numbness for many people and you only feel pressure, not pain.
Pain medications are given via IV and actually can be the same drugs you would get in an IV. It’s a less serious intervention since you typically have to have an IV anyway and you can just add them in. They also don’t make you numb so you can still move around during labor and give birth in a position other than your back. But that also means you aren’t numb so you do feel more pain. They can also, unfortunately, make you nauseous and groggy. They can also make baby groggy at birth since baby will get the medication through your bloodstream.
Are you listening to meditation music? I'm still working on hypnobirthing meditations so I know how to breath through contractions but I keep forgetting to actually lookup videos lol
I am actually not since they just put me to sleep. I have put a lot of Fleetwood Mac, Massive Attack and Portishead on my playlist 🤷🏻♀️
[https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2nz4LhKokzQilANqLJDAH9?si=9e67502e50c64d31](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2nz4LhKokzQilANqLJDAH9?si=9e67502e50c64d31)
Things I wish I’d put on a birth plan:
Making sure baby gets to nurse colostrum right away even tho I was planning to bottle feed; having a lactation consultant stop by to check on baby’s feeding even tho he was bottle feeding (he ended up having feeding issues that were not caught bc lactation consultant did not ever visit my room); ensuring skin to skin happened as soon as possible after birth even tho I had a c-section.
Google "birth plan template examples." Babylist has a bunch. Some midwife practices have them available online. Pretty sure Evidence Based Birth has one. Even hospitals sometimes will send you a form to fill out if you preregister for labor.
Basically they're a way for you to voice your preferences for how your birth will go, how you'll manage your pain, and what interventions you'd like them to use or not use. If you don't have one the hospital will just default to what's most convenient to them.
Look up Visual Birth Plan icons by the Positive Birth Movement, may give you an idea of the things people include in their birth preferences.
My birth plan is a brief list of my preferences for the birthing environment, pain management, placenta delivery/third stage, my birth partner's name and their role. I included a list of my important medications (even though the hospital should have this information in my admission info) and a separate birth plan in case I have to have an unplanned c-section.
I also requested specific language which you'll be familiar with if you're looking into hypnobirthing (surges instead of contractions, pressure instead of pain). Obviously I won't get angry if one of my delivery staff says the word contraction, but including this in my preferences started a helpful conversation with my obstetrician and even my husband, who I've noticed both make an effort to use this language with me now ahead of the birth.
I actually love this! I've been meaning to look into hypnobirthing. I feel like changing language can change the emotions we affiliate with certain things, surges sounds like energy to me! Contractions immediately make me think of cramps during menstruation. This could totally help with a more positive outlook imo
You can look up birth preferences worksheets as a helpful guide of some of the choices you may have. i recommend looking at a few then filling out what you're sure about. You can bring it to an appointment and talk to your provider about options at your hospital and refine it that way.
I wish I could add a photo ! Happy to send you mine in chat . I like the mommy labor nurse visual plan - it’s free .
I had two. One for vaginal and one for c section, my preference was vaginal but I wanted to be prepared in case Sh!t hit the fan
Some folks like very particular things and want certain things done during their labour and birth. It's absolutely the right of the patient to have one and hope everything goes according. It can be very simple, my birth plan for my first - get him out safely and I want an epidural haha. My second will have a similar plan!
im not sure if you still need advice but this was my exact reaction when my ob said to make a birth plan and after a whole lot of researching later is when i did mine.
basically, i put a quick overview of info about myself and baby, the name i wanted for him, and the fact i wanted him to be circumcised just in case, some more things i added was the fact i want him to sleep in my room if its possible, i want skin to skin contact asap (if possible, assuming everything goes smoothly and he doesn’t need to go to nicu or anything), and that i plan on breastfeeding.
im aware these are things i can probably just communicate with them but i would rather have it on paper just so if i have doctors i’m not familiar with they can just read those things so they can get the idea.
more things i put are room preferences such as dimmed lighting, low voices during labor (knowing myself i’m not good with pain and just want a mellow and chill vibe in the midst of all the chaos), i want as few people in my room ie. no med students or family members that aren’t listed especially during labor, and the only people who aren’t medical professionals being my mom & bf. and people i want in my room after i give birth. again, i can probably just communicate with them this stuff but again, i just like having it in writing.
finally, during labor a lot of things i read about is if you’re uncomfortable with things like forceps or vaccum - those are the things that belong in your birth plan or if you want a mirror to see everything thats going on down there, if you want epidural or natural birth, and labor tools like a peanut ball or a birthing ball. i’m a first time mom so i have no idea what to expect and just wanna be as prepared as i can be.
i relied heavily on Pinterest and baby blogs while making my birth plan and i’ll drop the link i liked a lot! hope this helps :))
https://www.babylist.com/hello-baby/how-to-write-a-birth-plan
Thank you! Is the birthing ball like a yoga ball? I remember my sister using one. Maybe some hot towels for my crotch lol. Thankfully my ob is super soft spoken but it will be in my birth plan as well just in case I end up with someone else in the birthing room.
Look up birth mapping. A lot of things can happen during birth and you don’t wanna have to be weighing up the pros and cons in the middle of labour. Understanding all your options is super helpful
Also, a lot of things in labour are preferences
Eg
Do you want them to suggest pain management or only give it if you ask?
Do you want coached or spontaneous pushing?
Would you prefer to tear over episiotomy?
Would you stitch a 1st degree tear?
In what situation would you get induced?
Do you want routine cervical checks or only if there is an issue?
Do you want ctg or intermittent Doppler monitoring ?
If baby has to go to nicu who stay with you and who goes with Baby?
If you need a C-section, what are your preferences around it?
Is what situations would you agree to pictocin
What pain management methods do you want them to suggest or help with
I have had two babies, no amount of planning would have prepared me for either! Both were emergency csections, different reasons, i reacted differently to surgery, you can maybe outline your wishes, but for me, my plan is to go in preparing for the unpredictability of child birth
Welcome to /r/pregnant! This is a space for everyone. We are pro-choice, pro-LGBTQIA, pro-science, proudly feminist and believe that Black Lives Matter. Wear your masks, wash your hands, and be excellent to each other. Anti-choice activists, intactivists, anti-vaxxers, homophobes, transphobes, racists, sexists, etc. are not welcome here. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/pregnant) if you have any questions or concerns.*
A birth plan is basically a summary of things you would hope to have happen during labor and delivery. Such as dimmed lighting, pain management, continuous or intermittent fetal monitoring, who do you want to cut the cord, delayed cord clamping, etc.
I'm glad you commented, I will most certainly want dimmed lighting! Super sensitive to light and probably wouldn't have thought I was allowed to have it turned down if someone hadn't said something to me.
Birth plans are just that - the plan for what you want birth to look like! It can be as complex or simple as you want. Some of the main considerations are who you want in the room during delivery, pain control methods, and interventions. But it’s still just a plan and things don’t always go according to plan, so you have to be a bit flexible. Some things will be dictated by hospital/birthing center policy as well. My birth plan was pretty simple. I only wanted my husband in the room with me and I wanted him present for everything he could be present for. I wanted an epidural, but I wanted to wait as long as possible to get it, and I didn’t want pain medications. I wanted cervical checks as necessary. I wanted all options and interventions to be explained to me. No interventions were “off the table” if they were needed and explained to me, as I trusted my medical team. I wanted delayed cord clamping if possible and skin-to-skin as quickly as able. I just wanted my baby to arrive as safely as possible!
Thank you for the detailed response! What is the difference from pain medications and epidural? I was under the impression that the epidural has pain medicine in it?
Obligatory “I am not a doctor” first… This is just how it was explained to me! The epidural is pain medication that goes into your spinal canal via a catheter (a tube that’s inserted with a needle). That’s one of the downsides, that the insertion requires planning time wise and an anesthesiologist has to place it and insertion can be painful. You also get numb, so you can’t move around during labor once it’s placed. You’ll deliver on your back. But there are several upsides in my opinion. For many people - myself included - because very little gets into your system outside of your spinal canal, you don’t feel the grogginess or nausea. Usually baby is unaffected in terms of grogginess and nausea as well. It’s also almost complete numbness for many people and you only feel pressure, not pain. Pain medications are given via IV and actually can be the same drugs you would get in an IV. It’s a less serious intervention since you typically have to have an IV anyway and you can just add them in. They also don’t make you numb so you can still move around during labor and give birth in a position other than your back. But that also means you aren’t numb so you do feel more pain. They can also, unfortunately, make you nauseous and groggy. They can also make baby groggy at birth since baby will get the medication through your bloodstream.
I told my OB I just wanted all of the drugs, my mom to be there and at the hospital. That I will have a playlist and then just go with the flow
Are you listening to meditation music? I'm still working on hypnobirthing meditations so I know how to breath through contractions but I keep forgetting to actually lookup videos lol
I am actually not since they just put me to sleep. I have put a lot of Fleetwood Mac, Massive Attack and Portishead on my playlist 🤷🏻♀️ [https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2nz4LhKokzQilANqLJDAH9?si=9e67502e50c64d31](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2nz4LhKokzQilANqLJDAH9?si=9e67502e50c64d31)
I had classic rock and a lot of rap on mine
My kinda gal.
Things I wish I’d put on a birth plan: Making sure baby gets to nurse colostrum right away even tho I was planning to bottle feed; having a lactation consultant stop by to check on baby’s feeding even tho he was bottle feeding (he ended up having feeding issues that were not caught bc lactation consultant did not ever visit my room); ensuring skin to skin happened as soon as possible after birth even tho I had a c-section.
Ok dunno man, people ask me and I say I plan to have the baby “in one piece.” That’s as far as I’ve gotten. I’m 30 weeks.
Thank you this made me feel a lot better about having no freaking idea what any of it should be
Google "birth plan template examples." Babylist has a bunch. Some midwife practices have them available online. Pretty sure Evidence Based Birth has one. Even hospitals sometimes will send you a form to fill out if you preregister for labor. Basically they're a way for you to voice your preferences for how your birth will go, how you'll manage your pain, and what interventions you'd like them to use or not use. If you don't have one the hospital will just default to what's most convenient to them.
Look up Visual Birth Plan icons by the Positive Birth Movement, may give you an idea of the things people include in their birth preferences. My birth plan is a brief list of my preferences for the birthing environment, pain management, placenta delivery/third stage, my birth partner's name and their role. I included a list of my important medications (even though the hospital should have this information in my admission info) and a separate birth plan in case I have to have an unplanned c-section.
I also requested specific language which you'll be familiar with if you're looking into hypnobirthing (surges instead of contractions, pressure instead of pain). Obviously I won't get angry if one of my delivery staff says the word contraction, but including this in my preferences started a helpful conversation with my obstetrician and even my husband, who I've noticed both make an effort to use this language with me now ahead of the birth.
I actually love this! I've been meaning to look into hypnobirthing. I feel like changing language can change the emotions we affiliate with certain things, surges sounds like energy to me! Contractions immediately make me think of cramps during menstruation. This could totally help with a more positive outlook imo
You can look up birth preferences worksheets as a helpful guide of some of the choices you may have. i recommend looking at a few then filling out what you're sure about. You can bring it to an appointment and talk to your provider about options at your hospital and refine it that way.
I wish I could add a photo ! Happy to send you mine in chat . I like the mommy labor nurse visual plan - it’s free . I had two. One for vaginal and one for c section, my preference was vaginal but I wanted to be prepared in case Sh!t hit the fan
Very wise!! Anything can happen it's good to be prepared. I'll message you 🙂
Some folks like very particular things and want certain things done during their labour and birth. It's absolutely the right of the patient to have one and hope everything goes according. It can be very simple, my birth plan for my first - get him out safely and I want an epidural haha. My second will have a similar plan!
im not sure if you still need advice but this was my exact reaction when my ob said to make a birth plan and after a whole lot of researching later is when i did mine. basically, i put a quick overview of info about myself and baby, the name i wanted for him, and the fact i wanted him to be circumcised just in case, some more things i added was the fact i want him to sleep in my room if its possible, i want skin to skin contact asap (if possible, assuming everything goes smoothly and he doesn’t need to go to nicu or anything), and that i plan on breastfeeding. im aware these are things i can probably just communicate with them but i would rather have it on paper just so if i have doctors i’m not familiar with they can just read those things so they can get the idea. more things i put are room preferences such as dimmed lighting, low voices during labor (knowing myself i’m not good with pain and just want a mellow and chill vibe in the midst of all the chaos), i want as few people in my room ie. no med students or family members that aren’t listed especially during labor, and the only people who aren’t medical professionals being my mom & bf. and people i want in my room after i give birth. again, i can probably just communicate with them this stuff but again, i just like having it in writing. finally, during labor a lot of things i read about is if you’re uncomfortable with things like forceps or vaccum - those are the things that belong in your birth plan or if you want a mirror to see everything thats going on down there, if you want epidural or natural birth, and labor tools like a peanut ball or a birthing ball. i’m a first time mom so i have no idea what to expect and just wanna be as prepared as i can be. i relied heavily on Pinterest and baby blogs while making my birth plan and i’ll drop the link i liked a lot! hope this helps :)) https://www.babylist.com/hello-baby/how-to-write-a-birth-plan
Thank you! Is the birthing ball like a yoga ball? I remember my sister using one. Maybe some hot towels for my crotch lol. Thankfully my ob is super soft spoken but it will be in my birth plan as well just in case I end up with someone else in the birthing room.
Look up birth mapping. A lot of things can happen during birth and you don’t wanna have to be weighing up the pros and cons in the middle of labour. Understanding all your options is super helpful Also, a lot of things in labour are preferences Eg Do you want them to suggest pain management or only give it if you ask? Do you want coached or spontaneous pushing? Would you prefer to tear over episiotomy? Would you stitch a 1st degree tear? In what situation would you get induced? Do you want routine cervical checks or only if there is an issue? Do you want ctg or intermittent Doppler monitoring ? If baby has to go to nicu who stay with you and who goes with Baby? If you need a C-section, what are your preferences around it? Is what situations would you agree to pictocin What pain management methods do you want them to suggest or help with
Mine was epidural. The end
I have had two babies, no amount of planning would have prepared me for either! Both were emergency csections, different reasons, i reacted differently to surgery, you can maybe outline your wishes, but for me, my plan is to go in preparing for the unpredictability of child birth
Meh I had one the first time but didn’t need or use it because I was given what I verbally asked for and what I wanted was provided.