Will you be writing a birth plan?

[ani'smommy]

I wrote one for my last hospital birth, but didn't really get any of it since I had pre-e and was induced. (Although probably unecessarily. )

Did you write it with your midwife? Or write it yourself and then give it to the midwife? Did your midwife have any problems with it? Did she find if offensive that you wrote one at all?

The more I picture this birth, the more I picture the midwife in the other room, waiting until/if we actually need her. I really want her there mostly to help with the placenta, to make sure that it is intact, to do a newborn exam, to watch for hemmorage and to clean up. I didn't really feel this way exactly when I interviewed her, but I do remember telling her that I believed a midwife's role was to just watch for potential problems and she wholeheartedly agreed. I guess I just need to talk to her about it.

[tamagotchi]

We didn't write a birth plan when we had a homebirth in 2005. I know that some people do. But we talked to our midwife a lot before the birth about what we felt comfortable with, what procedures we agreed to or didn't agree to, and what might happen if we needed to transfer to hospital.

Some homebirth families write up a birth plan just in case they end up in the hospital, but my midwife said she didn't really recommend that, because birth plans usually list all the inteventions you don't want, but in a case of transfer to the hospital, you're usually going in order to get a needed intervention and a typical birth plan won't really apply at that point. She said that birth plans are really more for people who have planned hospital birth from the start.

[ani'smommy]

Yeah, I wouldn't make a birth plan in case of a transfer, per se, but more for the homebirth.

I guess I'm worried about assuming. For instance, I want to delay cord-cutting. I don't want to assume that our midwife will also agree with that, and I don't want to have to be worried about it during the birth, yk? This is my first homebirth, so I'm not really sure what is "standard" if anything.

[HarperRose]

I didn't write one w/ my first hb and probably won't this time, either. Last time I was VERY vocal about my needs (basically, don't cut me and if I transfer then don't let a doc cut me, either!) and she had no problem with it. It was a very good birth for me and a great midwife. Very hands off until after, when I hemorrhaged and needed the assistance.

I expect this to be about the same. My new mw is also a friend, so we're on the same page about MUCH.

[tamagotchi]

Our midwife talked to us about all those things in detail, so that she could make sure she knew all our preferences, and make sure we knew what to expect from her. I would bring this up with your midwife and see how she likes to handle the "birth plan" with her clients.

[momto l&a]

I never have. I figure if I am going to the hospital its and emergency.

As for a birth plan for at home I go with whatever I want or feels good.

My mw is free to make suggestions.

[eviesingleton]

Yes, but mostly because I love writing about things.

[happy & blessed]

I wrote one, just to get my thoughts straight on what I wanted/didn't want. I never gave it to my midwife, but instead made sure that she knew before hand how i felt about things. I think that generally speaking, a relationship with a homebirth midwife is so much closer than the one with an OB for a hospital birth, that it makes a birth plan for the homebirth pretty much unnecessary. And as pp said, if you end up transferring to the hospital, it is going to be for a "problem" in which case your birth plan would probably go out the window anyway. But try not to think about the "what-ifs". You will do great!

[aylaanne]

I am not anticipating needing a birth plan with my midwives, mostly because they have a small patient load and we talk a LOT about what our expectations are for the birth. If I think that they're going to be busier come October, I may write a birth plan just to make sure they know that it's me and my wishes that they're attending.

I'm also planning on writing a brief outline of what my wishes are if we should transfer (no circ if it's a boy, my husband stays with the baby at ALL TIMES if I have a section, DH announces the sex of the baby, no section unless IMMINENT DEATH of myself or the baby is threatened, rooming in, d/c ASAP after the birth, etc) as well as my personal feelings about being in the hospital, so that the staff has an idea of who I am and what my wishes are if there's time to honor them (and frequently, there is).

Writing a birth plan may help you to feel more organized in what you want, and may help you to identify feelings and fears that you have that you hadn't recognized before. If you don't deal with confrontation well, it may help you broach the subject with your midwife sooner and in a healthier fashion. However, I STRONGLY ADVISE that you talk to your midwife about it, sooner rather than later.

Good luck, mama.

[Lady Lilya]

I was working on that yesterday.

I know I don't need one for my HB MW, but in case of hospital transfer I thought I should have one, since they won't know me and in the rush of an emergency won't necessarily communicate well with me.

I plan to print it on bright colored paper. I included things like "Due to religious objections, please DO NOT CIRCUMCISE OR VACCINATE him." and "A good breastfeeding relationship is a high priority for us. Towards that end, please do not give him any formula or glucose or water, or artificial nipples including pacifiers."

[Belle]

We're not writing one. We've already discussed what's important to us with our midwives. In case of hospital transfer a birth plan probably won't get read anyway so why should I bother writing one?

[ecoteat]

It felt unnecessary to write one since we had discussed everything so thoroughly with the MWs. Also, we knew that in the event of a transfer they have a very good relationship with our local low-intervention hospital (where the senior birth professional there is a CNM who used to do homebirths and they have a less than 10% c/s rate) and we trusted them, the CNM, and at least one of the nurses (a friend of ours) to help us have a positive birth experience.

[ani'smommy]

Thanks everyone. I think I will write one mostly for my own benefit. I'm afraid that I will have forgotten about something. There are quite a few things that I regret about Anneke's birth just because I hadn't considered them. I'm much better educated now, but I'm still afraid of having regrets due to lack of knowledge, kwim?

I guess I better talk this over with my mw, huh?

[Nan'sMom]

My midwife said I didn't need one for my first, then she "forgot" that she had agreed not to use a doptone. For my second (UC with MW backup), from the start, I wrote a VERY blunt and detailed list of what I did and didn't want. She responded very well to it and she was a help when we needed her. IMO, if your MW is offended by your birthplan, chances are you're with the wrong MW.

One thing I put on the birthplan was to treat the birth as a sacred event and the birth as sacred space...and not to chat with other people in the space, to go outside the house for phone calls, etc. (first MW and doula chattered on right after baby was born, and it was annoying). Also I wrote to keep out of my line of vision right after baby is born and not to give any opinions (like "what a cute baby") in order to minimize impact of MW being there. As it turned out, we did UC but MW arrived about 1.5 hours after dd2 was born and she was great. Writing the birthplan really helped me to communicate and clarify.

[KarenMT]

I have a birth plan from my first pregnancy with DD. We had a hospital birth and I wrote/reviewed it with DH and my doula. I will probably modify it somewhat and review with my HBMW, in case of transfer or in case there is a problem prior to 36 weeks. More than anything the birth plan was important for DH and I to go over. I wanted him to know what my wishes were and to be able to keep others from doing something different if I was in labor land and not able to interject.