Birth Plan?

[LuckyLaura]

Hi ladies,

When did your midwives/consultants discuss a birth plan with you? Tbh as a first time mum I've been given pretty much no information on anything the whole way through the pregnancy and have felt very much alone with it. There has been no mention of a birth plan or when they might discuss it, what options are available for pain relief (I literally know nothing so been trying to do some research myself and just don't know) then also you see so much about different hospitals varying in what they offer and stuff- well how do I know what they do and more importantly don't offer xx

 

[WinterWolf]

I'm struggling with this too, though I'm not very far along yet. Since I found out I was pregnant I've been offered very little advice/information. My advice is to write down all your questions and ask your doctor/midwife at your next appointment, Google it or phone the hospitals and talk to them directly. Its all very overwhelming, good luck x

 

[Princesssaxy]

I’m 40+1 and not had anyone go through anything officially with me yet!

I’ve had an anaesthetist appt and a couple of consultant appts after scans so they’ve had a few brief discussions over it but mostly I’ve done my own plan based off my own research and antenatal classes. Also had a hospital tour where they mentioned what pain relief you could get in the different places e.g midwife led unit/delivery unit

It’s going to go all out of the window anyway so I actually don’t know why I’ve bothered

 

[malagueta]

Hey Laura. I've never had anything mentioned at my doctor/midwife appointments but labour and pain options were discussed at my antenatal class last week (I was 32 weeks at that point). I'm not sure if you've signed up to any of these or when they start for you but I found that one in particular really helpful.

If not, I was going to do what WinterWolf suggested and write down a ton of questions to ask at my next appointment and offload them all on my poor midwife!

 

[Shanivy]

Mine wants to do my birth plan on Wednesday and I'll be 36 weeks. I cant remember with my first. It's usually quite late in your pregnancy

You can always ask to go through it if it's causing you anxiety.

There's (should be) a birth plan in your notes with questions like vitamin k, what you want, how you feel about exams, if you want an injection to help placenta detach etc and anything else you want. It's all well and good saying birth plans can go out the window but it's very helpful to put your important preferences down. Unless you have real issues they will be followed.

For example for me I'm putting id like delayed cord clamping if I can, and focus on helping me with crowning slowly this time- to try and stop tearing again if possible. Ask at your next appointment about the options, it's your appointment you can ask whatever you like xx

 

[MoominGirl]

I'm also very new at this!! I've been totally happy with the support so far but if I'm honest I've directed a lot of the questions and I'm not afraid to ask!! I think if I was the sort of person who just said fine when the asked how I was, I'd be out in half the time!! I'm not suggesting that I'm not fine but I did expect them to direct question me more than they do. I think after urine dip and blood pressure, the rest is up to me!!

For me, as far as a birth plan goes, I will probably continue to gather as much information as I can on my own as I'm the sort of person that likes to feel well informed but I'm not sure that I'll want a detailed plan as I know that birth plans often go straight out the window!! I'm trying to be as relaxed as I can.

 

[Summergurl]

When I had DD it wasn't discussed until fairly late on.
I wouldn't stress too much over the birth plan though it's mainly for putting down things like if you want the vit k injection, help delivering placenta rather than an actual plan of how you want the birth to go.

My top priory and note on my birth plan was that my husband was to tell me if we had a daughter or a son. They all totally respected that and even the trainee midwife shouted to one of the surgeons that he wasn't to tell me as dad is doing it just as he was about to tell me.

Don't worry yourself too much over it though but make sure you ask all the questions you need to to your midwife. That's what they're there for.