What are your birthing plans?

[midwestmom]

Have any yet? Looks like there are not any first time mamas yet (hopefully there will be soon :down ). Looks like we have all done this before. Doing anything different this time?

[beautyful]

I'm planning a homebirth with a midwife this time around. :) With DD I had an OB and a hospital birth that turned into a Cesarean. If I cannot get a midwife to come to me, I will have a hospital VBAC with midwives, but I really would prefer to do it at home.

So I guess I'm hoping for a completely different birthing experience this time!

[MrsHenderson]

Same as last time would be nice. My son cam on his due date and there were no complications and not too much pain. I breathed A LOT.

[desireeb]

I'm planning another homebirth with our beloved midwife, Joy. I ended up in the hospital last time because I stopped dilating, but am planning on delivering at home this time. I am now under the care of a very good homeopath and am a student of homeopathy myself, so I know it will be different this time around!

[PancakeGoddess]

Another homebirth :thumb

[Jade2561]

We are planning a home water birth with a lay midwife. It is important for me that dd be there or close by when I give birth and that I am not away from her. I hope we all get the births we dream about!

[luckymama]

i think i want a home waterbirth.

i don't think i'm prepared for the battle against family and spouse to be able to have this with their support. right now, i've switched from my OB from my son's birth ... she irked me and there wasn't a doctor at my birth anyway since no one at the hospital thought i was going to have a baby anytime soon, and then he popped out while i was in the hospital bath tub ... but that's a story for another day. anyway, now i have a midwife in a hospital setting, and i'm thinking that may be the way to go. if i go with her, i will not have a doula this time around.

um ... sorry ... i think i don't know the answer to this question yet. can ya tell? :lol

[midwestmom]

I am in the same situation as luckymama (minus the accidental waterbirth :lol ). I am currently dumping my old OB group and getting ready to 'hire' a midwife. I LOVED the OB that delivered my first, but she moved when I was 37 weeks preg with my 2nd and I think the OB that delivered me was a bit intervention happy. I would love a home/birthingcenter birth, but I am pretty high risk (pre-term labor and PIH) and so far both of my babies have needed bililights for 2 days in hospital for ABO incompatability (not just newborn jaundice). I am planning for this birth to be much more natural (water would be great) than the first two provided my BP doesn't get too crazy this time.

[PancakeGoddess]

If you're planning a homebirth, be sure to add yourself here:
http://www.mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?t=361995

[Roots]

I am planning a VBAC with a midwife. In my area there is a huge demand for midwives so I really hope I will get in. I think my chances of actually ending with a VBAC are much greater with one.

I envy you ladies your homebirth experiences. I wish I was smarter the first time around, but I went with OB and hospital birth.

[1stTimeMummytoLore]

we are also planning a homebirth with a lay midwife. had my first in a hospital with a CNM and it was fine, but the postpartum and nursery care was awful. i'm looking forward to snuggling up with my family and being left ALONE to bond and rest together afterwards w/o having to fight to stay together. i also don't want to be seperated from DD for days and want her to be around to welcome her new sibling right away.

kate

[PancakeGoddess]

i'm looking forward to snuggling up with my family and being left ALONE to bond and rest together afterwards

:throb this is the best!

[~pi]

Hi, I'm new and I recently found out I'm expecting dc#1 next July. We've been TTC for a couple of months and I'm thrilled to be pregnant!

I'd love to have a homebirth. It's my idea of an ideal birth. Sadly, I'm high risk (type 1 diabetes.) I don't have the same issues as women with type 2 or GD, but for reasons not yet understood, babes of type 1 women have quite an elevated risk of lung problems, so it's off to the hospital for me.

I'm really quite sad that I won't have a HB experience, but considering that when I was diagnosed 23 years ago, my parents were told I would probably never have kids, I'm thankful to be planning a birth at all.

I'm planning for no drugs, partly for the babe's sake and partly because I have never reacted well to anesthetics or narcotics and I hate needles (funny, I know.) I want to avoid anything that might affect the babe but there's also the added incentive that I don't want it to affect my blood sugars. We're budgeting for a doula but otherwise I'm not sure yet what sort of birthing technique I would like to use; suggestions/comparisons are welcome!

[SoCalGirl]

This is my first time to be pregnant! It's all brand-new to me. I am planning to give birth at a birth center with a midwife.

[MrsHenderson]

Since a lot of you are doing home births and/or with mid wives - can you tell me what you think the advantages are? I like the idea of being home with my son, but I don't think he'd want to hear mommy in pain. And, I really don't know the advantages of having a mid-wife. I hope these are not dumb questions... looking forward to your replies :)

[desireeb]

We have chosen a homebirth because my home is where I feel the most comfortable. Although I did not get to deliver at home last time as I ended up in the hospital, my own bedroom would be my preferred place to spend the first hours and days with my new baby. I also feel that the environment that your baby has developed in, your home, your smells, your pets is the best place for them to come into the world.
I also liked the idea of being at home because it was calm. There wasn't a nurse coming to check on me every half hour. Our MW was there when we needed her but kept to herself when we didn't.
I also wanted no intervention (vit K, antibiotics, episiotomy), all of which I got when I ended up in the hospital. Had I delivered at home, I feel that my recovery time would have been much shorter.
This second birth is the first in which we will have to worry about a sibling, but our midwife has done many births and I'm sure she will have some suggestions. I know that we will ask someone to be a caregiver for our DD should we need it during the labor. Prior to that, we will watch videos and talk about what's going to happen in order to prepare her.
Hope that helps!

[1stTimeMummytoLore]

i am sleep deprived from a birth i was a doula for last night, so i went to respond to what the advantages of homebirth and midwives are and accidentally hit new thread instead of post reply to this thread, so my response is on the new thread entitled "totally ranting about birth options"

http://www.mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?t=362826

here is the link to it if anyone is interested. it's just my 2 cents so take it or leave it

kate

[PancakeGoddess]

For me, hospital births just have too many unknowns:
nurses you will get
whether they will be supportive or defensive that you know your options and are knowledgeable
whether you get control over what happens to your baby
whether monitoring will make it hard to get comfortable and progress
whether they will let you eat and drink
whether labor will be much slower because of the unfamiliar environment
whether the baby will be given a pacifier or bottle without my knowledge
whether baby will be given shots or circumcision without consent (it does happen)
whether I'm discharged in a timely fashion

etc etc

[Jade2561]

For me the advantages of homebirth are:
- that birth is treated as a normal and natural process, rather than a medical problem that needs to be managed and fixed
- That during labor I have freedom of movement, able to eat and drink, no EFMs, allowed to progress naturally without augmentation
- being able to have the people I love surrounding me
- being comfortable to labor in a place that I am familiar with, can relax, and feel uninhibited
- I don't want to be away from dd for 3 days in a hosiptal
- no seperation of mom and baby after birth
- I don't want to be pressured into using pain medication, Hep B and Vitamin K shots, antibotics, circ. for my newborn
- I want a birth that is family centered and that is MINE

[SoCalGirl]

My choice to use a birth center and a midwife is based on two things. One, a little over a year ago I switched to seeing a midwife for well-woman care, instead of an OB/GYN, and I found the difference in approach amazing.

And I have heard the birth stories of lots of my friends who have given birth in hospitals and birth centers, and without even hearing all the statistics about how many unnecessary interventions happen in hospitals, I knew that the experiences of my friends in birth centers were the ones that sounded the most pleasant to me. My friends who gave birth in hospitals, for the most part, were happy with it and that was what they wanted, but their stories just sounded way too "wrong" to me--babies being "taken away" right after birth, having to fight with the nurses to get them NOT to give the baby formula, being required to stay in the hospital for a certain number of days, etc. etc.

Some people are more comfortable in a hospital, but a hospital is not a place I'd like to spend any time if I can help it.

[MrsHenderson]

thanks everyone for your input - def. has me thinking :)

[Maxine45]

I'll be a first time mama. Don't really know yet what I'll do.
I've read the book Misconceptions by Toni Wolfe, gave me a lot to think about.
I have toured a local community hospital.
I have discovered my insurance won't cover midwives or doulas or non-hospital births.
I'm interested in having a fulfilling and natural birth. . . I don't really want to be tethered or lying in a hospital bed.
There's a local birthing center about 15 miles from my home, it looks pretty nice.

I'm trying to figure out which alternatives our insurance will cover first and foremost.

[lotus.blossom]

First time mama here but have been doing reasearch for years.
Dh and I have decided to compromise and have our baby at a birth center which is located at a local hospital. I am nervous about a homebirth because of a bad experience my cousin had with homebirthing her first. If dh was on board with a homebirth I would be shooting for one but since he is very nervous about it I would rather we compromise. I will be having a doula since I don't have any family here and none of my friends have had babies so I'm in need of some strong positive natural birthing support. I'm only 4 weeks but am so ready for making plans and getting into the groove of pregnancy!

:love

[paisley]

This is #2 for us. We had a fabulous birth experience with ds at our local birth center with a midwife. This time I am really looking forward to a homebirth though, perhaps a home water birth if we decide our floorboards can handle it! :lol This will be our last child so I feel like I really want to go all out and experience everything that I would like to while I have the opportunity.

[HaveWool~Will Felt]

Well, let's see....
1999 - natural birth 10 pounder ds#1
2001- natural birth 10 pounder ds#2
2004- emergency c-section 3 pounds dd#1 (died 6 hours later)
Current Birth....shooting for a homebirth...at this point in the game a LIVING, healthy baby is good with me!!!

[fenwickmama]

not sure yet. have first appt w/ob friday morning (early since i had concerns about my hormone levels but blood work has since shown they are ok, still keeping appt)-hope to remember to ask her some questions about intervention and skipping the quad test etc and make a decision based on how she is about that. there is a birth center an hour away with a midwife that my friend is using-may give them a call after she has her babe. the closer option would make it a lot easier for dh to go to appts etc but we'll see...

[PrettyBird]

I am a first time mama! I have not completely decided my birth plans. I have military health insurance, which although it is free it isn't very flexible. I am going to switch to the US Family Health plan (it is a form of military health ins through Johns Hopkins I can switch to) if they will let me give birth at a local birthing center here (Special Beginnings in Arnold, MD).

I have thought about homebirth, but DH and I live in a small apartment, and on top of that we are going to have to move a few weeks before my due date. :irked:

My other (free) option is giving birth at the Naval Hospital, which surprisingly has gotten a couple of good reviews from a few mamas here.

If I do go the hospital route, I am compiling a list of what I DO not want:
No forceps
No Drugs (I hate medicine anyway)
No epistotomy (sp?)
No C Sec unless absolutely necessary
NO FORMULA FED TO MY BABY
NO CIRC!!!

[beautyful]

I'm choosing the homebirth/midwife route because I feel it's my best option for a VBAC. :) I was also really unhappy with a lot of things that happened in the hospital postpartum (fighting nurses over breastfeeding, being forgotten by other nurses, etc.) I don't want to be separated from my daughter for too long either. (I'm planning on having my mom here JUST for her, so DH and I can focus on the labour/delivery part. I've had several friends higly recommend having her here, so I feel confident she'll be okay. :))

[birthdancedoula]

This'll be my 4th HB. Right now we're tossing around the idea of birthing at the Farm. I met Ina May last month and visted the Farm this summer so the idea is really growing on me. I really love the mw we used last time too, though. There are a lot of options to think about but fortunately I have a while to figure everything out.

[Mama2ABCD]

homebirth :love

my first 2 were in the hospital (no pain meds; but still iv's, monitors, pitocin, no eating, hard to walk around, just sitting there waiting while labor progressed plus i didn't use the nursery or the plastic crib)
my 3rd was a homebirth and i won't go back to hospital (unless transferred).

[Still_Snarky]

We're planning a homebirth with a midwife after a very disappointing hospital birth last time around!

[HaveWool~Will Felt]

I'm choosing the homebirth/midwife route because I feel it's my best option for a VBAC. :)


I agree with you. I have attended LOTS of homebirth VBAC's....and the only thing different in how we treat the mama and birth is that we look at it as a first time birth. Watch things very closely.

:heartbeat

[ilovemyavery]

We are currently planning a hospital birth with the CNM we saw for DD. We have talked about homebirth and will contine to discuss it as we progress with this (surprise) pregnancy. We thought we had some more time to talk about this! We had a really good experience from the first visit to L&D with Avery. I just wish they did waterbirth... Another factor in our decision is that we are currently working on our house- gutting bathroom, flooring, etc. It's not really a "restful" place and I can't imagine birthing here, with the house under construction, so we'll see where we are in July, KWIM?

[Red Sonja]

With DS I had a natural birth in a hospital with a CNM. This time around I am planning a homebirth though for the first few months I will get concurrent care with an OB or CNM. (Military insurance - they won't cover the homebirth but at least this way they will cover any ultrasounds or labwork I choose & just in case I go into preterm labor again.

[otter]

I am a first timer and just had my offiicial word for the doctor that I am indeed pregnant. Varying tests had me a little confused and unsure but I was told-before I was sitting down- :o that I was in fact pregnant. I am excited but now comes all the decisions.
My SIL just had their first baby and she really wanted a doula and told me she wishes they would have saved up and gotten one for the birth. Turns out, they just went to the hospital at the last possible second and she had no drugs and after a painful labor, had her sweet Emma.
I am anxious to go visit to see my niece first of all and also to get advice, info and possibly some maternity clothes from my SIL. ;)

[HaveWool~Will Felt]

homebirth...after today (mw appt)....I feel more confident that we will birth at home!!! YAH!!!!

[Quagmire]

Old thread, but since we've had some changes of plans since the beginning and some of us ladies haven't posted our plans I thought I'd give it a little :bump:

We're planning a birth center birth with a midwife. The birth center is 5 minutes away or I might have done a homebirth... just didn't seem worth the hassle to rent a tub when I can go there and be home in under 4 hours! Plus, MIL is going to be watching the toddler and I don't want her at the birth :)

Anyone else? Any plans changed?

[momsmyjob]

I am nervous about a homebirth because of a bad experience my cousin had with homebirthing her first.

:scratch

Not starting anything, but that's a statement I don't get.. A lot more problems arise in a hospital than a homebirth.

That being said..you couldn't pay me to birth in a hospital! I am planning another home waterbirth :love This time I may go unassisted..it depends on how things go during labor. My last HB was a breeze.

[JulyBellyButton]

We are planning a birth at a birthing center ran by OBs because I am high risk with PIH and severe asthma, and possibly placenta previa (find out for sure June 5). If it weren't for the placenta previa-I would definitely be doing a home birth with a MW. I'm hoping to do a homebirth next time around, crossing fingers that there is no placenta previa next time. I'm honestly not comfortable with a hospital birth just because I'm very afraid I'm going to have to fight for what I want-although I have NO problem voicing my opinion and kicking and screaming until I get what I want as far as this birth LOL I just wish I had a peace of mind knowing that I would be able to get through this without having to fight and have a comfortable birth. Granted I cannot foresee how things will go or what complications might arise, but I hope to keep it as natural as possible with:

-no episiotomy
-little or no intervention-and only after my approval
-do not want to be offered drugs and want to go as long as I can drug-free
-no forceps
-definitely no induction-my body and my baby will work together when it is time
-free movement
-no enema
-definitely don't want to be strapped down by monitors or IVs

I've also created a C-Section birth plan just in case I have to have one due to the placenta blocking the baby's way out.

[TanyaS]

We were originally planning a hospital VBAC, but about 25 weeks switched to an HBAC with a midwife (DEM). I am so excited about this birth and it is likely to be dramatically different from my first two. The first I was so uneducated about birth and all it got me was a c/s. The second, I was much more empowered, enlightened and educated, but not grown enough in my walk to have a homebirth. I planned an unmedicated hospital VBAC, and I got it. This baby was a surprise, and we had also moved, and here I was all stressed out about planning a repeat of last time. I asked myself why I wasn't planning a homebirth free of all the c/section looming over my head anxiety. Less than 10 weeks to go!