Birth plans: to write or not to write... That is the question.

[Guest]

Actually the midwife does have time to read it, she's in the birthing suite with you and is there for you. Unless it's an emergency, labour takes a pretty long time and everyone who walks in the room can stop and read what you want. I was already pushing, a dr walked in and he still read my 3 pages before talking to me, everyone was so respectful. If a midwife dismisses it and tells you she doesn't have time I'd be asking for another midwife who has more respect for me.

[becandabub]

Double post

[kymmie]

For myself, I'm fairly opposed to them... but I see that they do suit some people.

I think it's more important to go in educated, know your options, but as birth is so unpredictable, I think it's also good to go in open minded.

It quite upsets me when people have a strict birth plan that they're not willing to deviate from, regardless of the situation. I think it's very important that bubs comes first and the mothers experience (whilst important) should not compromise that.

[IndigoJ]

I wrote one for DS2 because of my bad birth with DS1.
On mine i wrote specific things such as, No internals (unless i requested), No drugs, no drugs to be offered, the gas had to be set to a level that i want(it was on 3 during my birth with DS1 which did nothing, i had it on 6 with DS2), I also said that i wasnt going to be strapped to the ctg, they did periodical doppler checks, i also said that i didnt want to be put on their timeline(so i stayed at home as long as possible, they didnt think i was even in labour), and i told them i wouldnt be coached to push.

I had this plan written at about 20wks and i gave it to every single midwife i saw, so they all knew what i wanted and that they couldnt use the excuse of shift change ect for not knowing.

When i went into the hospital the head midwife put a copy in my room and a copy in my file on the desk. I asked for an internal when i got there and they offered my drugs once (their policy), i declined and told them not to mention them again (they didnt). They did doppler checks every now and then (after asking my permission every single time), they didnt touch me without my permission, and they only time they did was to support bubs head as he was born. Bub was born 1.5hrs after i got there so i wasnt on their timeline, The midwife didnt coach me into pushing, they coached me to breathe normally, so i didnt push at all, but my baby was still born (i breathed him out)

I had 4th degree tears with DS1 and i was going against medical advice having a VB with DS2 so i needed everything to go to plan if i wanted to avoid tearing again. The midwives were really understanding, and because they knew me and my birth plan they agreed with all of the measures i put in place and helped me carry out my plan.

BUT, after all my planning the only thing i had no control over was what the baby would do. He pooped inside me then put his hand to his mouth, palm out. The Mec worried me a bit and made me anxious as i immediately thought id need a csec, but my midwife calmed me and suggested we try VB first (she knew that i was in transition and that the baby was close to being born). Then when bubs mouth was born i tore, because of the angle of his elbow. So you can plan everything to the T but everything is not in your control.

[erinn]

I wrote one, but then because I ended up being induced prematurely due to pre-eclampsia I decided that it was a waste to have one and didnt bother taking it to hospital with me. I was asked if I had one when I got there and had to say no.

In hindsight I wish I had one and next time around I will. I agree with quite a few of the previous posters don't have it so set in concrete that if things change you end up disappointed because things didn't go the way you planned. You cant prepare for every possible scenario. I think I would rather use mine as a guide for my husband or support person so that they know your wishes and you have someone to advocate for you if you are either unwell or unable to communicate those needs yourself. I think you could have your wishes for different scenarios eg if I birth naturally then this is what I would like. Or if things progress to a c-section then this is what I would like. That way you arent set in stone if the situation changes but someone still has an idea of your wishes. For me, if I ever have to do one again mine would have a lot to do with what happens after the actual birth as this is where I found my issues lay. Eg skin to skin where possible, formula or breast etc. Only because I was quite ill after the birth and I found my hubby was so tied up with bubs that I felt a lot of pressure to give into things like formula and dummies etc because I was just too ill at the time to put up a fight if you get what I mean? Where as I think if you/or your support person/midwives have an idea of what you want they are more likely to work towards that if it is at all possible.