BIRTH PLAN? have not got a clue!??

[charlotte89]

right ladies, is it just me being dumb or what the hell do you plan for your birthing plan? lol i see some of you posting about it on here and wondered what it involves planning!?
iv got everything i need now and everything is good to go apart from my hospital bag but i have the list for that.
just want to know what the hell is involved in this birth plan and when i need to start planning it!?
really appreciate some advice girls thanks xx

 

[Chezza]

Here is a link to a template birth plan from the NHS website - you can print it out and fill in the bits that are relevant - it's a good guide to use!

http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/pages/birth-plan.aspx

It is essentially to help the medical team give you "your perfect labour"...but, be very aware that lots of birth plan go straight out the window, so don't be too disappointed if you don't get the labour experience that you were expecting.

Hope that helps xx

 

[charlotte89]

thanks a lot il try this xx

 

[lauralou]

I didn't have one last time and none of the mws even asked me about it, I just thought what will be will be, I knew I wanted to go to hospital and not have a home birth, and that was about it!

most people say oh I don't want any pain relief, then end up with an epidural in, so I don't really see the point. you know what u want and ur not gona forget at the time! if you want a water birth then its good to mention it to ur midwife but again its not a guarantee as you could get to the hospital and it be in use, so you haven't got much control over it.

not sure what else there is to plan?Xxx

 

[giz]

I didn't have a birth plan. I was asked as I went along.

At the least you want to just have in your mind about cord cutting, whether you want the injection to get placenta out quicker, the vitamin k injection, whether you want skin to skin etc. Stuff like that.

----------------
baby giz born 6th Feb 2011
next one due 12th Aug 2013

 

[charlotte89]

not that shes much use but i might ask my mw about it closer to the time cuz no doubt she wont mention it.
i wasnt going to make one either but suppose theres no harm in filling one of the forms out on the nhs site n keepin it in ya folder ready.
gives me something to do when im at home doing nothing i suppose lol even though you're right lauralou, i just assumed the mw's ask ya as ya going along really.
cuz i dont know what pain relief im going to want at the time. Im going go one of these hospital days where ya get to look around your ward. i will probably be able get a better idea of things then xx

 

[Mum2betash]

I had a birth plan, I just used a few templates on the net to put mine together. Though when the time came I went against it anyway but the midwives didn't even ask me. Good luck xxx

 

[charlotte89]

sounds like a waste of time doing one.. haha i might do one out of boredom then one day lol will see xx

 

[TaffyRose]

I had a birth plan, but it was in no way detailed. The mw was great though during my birth and read it and followed it, which was lucky as I don't think I could remember my own name at the time. I was happy to be flexible but wanted delayed cord clamping and immediate skin to skin, both of which I got. Might be worth just jotting down things like that xx

 

[tweetyfoo]

I never got around to doing my birth plan as I went 4 weeks early.

When I went into delivery MW just had a chat with me and asked me what I wanted and it worked out fine

 

[Colourmeblue]

I never did one last time, and wont be doing one this time. My OH, who is my birth partner, is aware of what drugs I want, and that i suffer with SPD. The rest will figure out as I go along. Labour is so unpredictable, I think its not such a good idea to have a detailed plan, cos chances are you might not be able to stick to it anyway x

 

[charlotte89]

thanks a lot girls , im going to just ask my mw all about it on my next app i think xx

 

[monzical]

I never had a plan and in fact with my first she was 6 weeks early! Any plans went out of the window then! With my second I just went with it and it was totally fine.

 

[charlotte89]

thats settled then, only doing one if i find the time to be arsed!! lol xx

 

[SaraLouise]

I am going to go against the grain here as I have done quite a detailed one that includes stuff about what I want to happen if I am induced, if I end up with a c-section ect ect.

BUT it was just because I felt like I needed to really sit down and think about labour to kind of mentally prepare myself.

I understand that it probably won't get read & I probably won't stick to it, but it was nice to think about what my "perfect" labour scenario might be x

 

[charlotte89]

I am going to go against the grain here as I have done quite a detailed one that includes stuff about what I want to happen if I am induced, if I end up with a c-section ect ect.

BUT it was just because I felt like I needed to really sit down and think about labour to kind of mentally prepare myself.

I understand that it probably won't get read & I probably won't stick to it, but it was nice to think about what my "perfect" labour scenario might be x

yeah i get that totally. think i havnt thought about it yet or dont wanna do one cuz the closer it gets the more petrified im getting lol watching that one born every minute doesnt help either cuz half of them are either exaggerating or they genuinely just look like they are dying lol xx

 

[k8_005]

Mw told me it's useful for them to be able to see your wishes written down especially if there is something very important to you ie if religious and have special things for me it's customary in our family for the first cuddle to be with daddy so I'm putting that on there also that I'd prefer if he checked and told me the sex. He doesn't want to cut the cord that I want baby wiped or cleaned before skin to skin and that I would prefer tonot have an epidural. If you put it at the v front of your notes and things are as planned not complications or early then iit's useful as shows you have thought through decisions I am also putting please encourage me to be active and not lie ony back and that should I become distressed or irrational husband and drs can have final say on what is needed and I am happy for tom to over rule me. I have discussed this with tom it is mainly because I'm very scared of a c section and may find in high emotions I fight it even if it's best for baby and me if somethin happens so iv told him if Dr thinks best and he thinks best to over rule me in that instance. X

 

[glowing]

Jot down your thoughts and ideas of what you would like to have. Don't be too rigid as you will deviate as the situation changes. For example you may put no way to an epidural and find you are not coping and request one immediately then you feel a failure for not following your birth plan. Be open to all suggestions and go with the flow. You can request delayed cord clamping for example or partner to find out sex before mw shouts it out (if team yellow). You can stipulate who you want in the room etc.

 

[charlotte89]

thanks ladies useful info there ! xx

 

[Heres Hoping]

I was wondering when my birth plan would be discussed as mw hasnt mentioned it yet but sounds like its not always discussed then I feel abit clueless about the different pain relief & what options we do have e.g delayed cord clamping etc. Im going to ante natal classes in july so will these things be explained then? Think i might do my own aswell once i know enough about it, im quite open minded & know that the birth will go its own way anyway, but at least if ive thought about it & prepared one already il know what i want if i do have choices. Ekkkk....scarey times when ur starting to think about a birth plan!! x