Hello again ladies! I am almost 33 weeks pregnant and at my next appointment my doctor wants to see my birth plan and then send it over to the hospital where we will be delivering at so the staff can review it and become familiar before we have our LO. In the past the only time I had a birth plan no one was remotely interested in it so I am kinda thrown by this-and excited! I have no idea what one looks like! Should it be like an essay or a numbered list? When does it "start"-from the moment I go into labor or when I get to the hospital? Do I need to specify what I want to happen in case of emergencies that require intervention? All I really know is I want to eat before arriving at the hospital, want to be up and walking as long as possible, use the shower or tub for pain relief, don't want my water broken to speed things along(my labors are fast anyways). Our hospital is a breast feeding friendly hospital and really push the kangaroo care-only mom or dad handle the baby for at least the first hour and bf begins asap, which is what I wanted, so I'm not sure if I should even include that in the birth plan. TIA!
Regarding the eating issue I have hypoglycemia and during my first labor I wasn't allowed anything-by the time I had my son which was only 3 hours later my sugar levels were in the 60s(50s can induce a coma) despite me telling them I desperately needed something. My son was born withextremely low blood sugar also and was taken off to the NICU as soon as he was born-we both were in bad shape for hours after. With my daughter I was allowed crackers and such and we were ok-I just want to avoid a repeat of what happened the first time!
Google rocks -found this worksheet for you :)
http://assets.babycenter.com/ims/Content/birthplan_pdf.pdf
It looks like you already have good answers so I will address my only concern. Who knows maybe things have changed. You plan on eating before you get to the hospital? Were you really focused on how hungry you were last time?
The reason I point this out is if you arrive at the hospital and they find out the baby is in distress it severely limits the types of anesthesia they can give you. So if you have to have an emergency c section that could be a really bad decision.
it sounds like thats your plan.
I don't get birth plans...its like writing out a christmas wish list and then never showing it to "santa" that baby is in control=)
My plan would be a simple plan to evict this baby in a proper manner without the need for screams and with a hint of laughter"
I feel like the women who write plans are often upset by watching things not go their way when birth is very unpredictable
What a fantastic doctor you have! My plan was, more or less:
* I prefer to avoid induction, i.e., I wish to avoid pitocin and I do not want my membranes artificially broken
* I wish to have natural childbirth, with no painkillers, no epidural, etc.
* I would like to labor in a tub
* I prefer to have labor precede at its own pace and not be artificially hurried
* I want my husband present the entire time
* I would prefer to avoid a c-section unless it's absolutely necessary
* I would like to hold and nurse the baby immediately after birth (kangaroo care)
* I would like to room in with the baby (no nursery)
* I am strongly committed to breastfeeding and would welcome the assistance of any lactation consultants on staff
* I do not want the baby to be given formula unless it's absolutely medically necesary
I think a numbered or bulleted list is probably a good idea. Medical professionals are pretty busy, and they aren't as paragraph-friendly as humanities types like me.
You have your outline here.. Copy and paste and spell it out line by line.
These are some examples..
Ultimate goal to have a healthy child.
Mom would like to have an all natural birth,
willing to accept coaching from nurses.
Will have husband in attendance at all times. Will welcome guests, no guests, will only allow the following people....
Is willing to labor in shower or tub.
Would prefer no pain meds unless mom states this safety word "give me the damn meds, now!"
You get the idea. Congratulations!
Make sure you address the issue/question of episiotomy also. Even if your doctor already knows your wishes, you may end up with a different doctor for some reason out of everyone's control. Some doctor's do them routinely, (or used to) so if you don't want it as a matter of "routine" say so. "Only if medically necessary not out of routine practice" or something.
Those are the kinds of things you want in there. If you have labored before, then you probably have some ideas... do you want music playing? Or do you prefer it quiet. Do you want the lights dimmed? Do you want an IV for fluids in the event you end up desiring an epidural, or do you not? (if you change your mind and decide during labor you want to get an epidural, you will have to receive an entire bag of fluid via IV before they will do it, in many hospitals, to help avoid a drop in pressure).... You can get an IV "just in case" or not.
Who is allowed in the room? Is there a point where you want anyone (parents, inlaws, other visitors) there to leave except for your husband?
Do you want the nurses to supplement your baby with the glucose water if they have any nursing issues? Do you want your baby rooming in or taken to a nursery?
Spell all that stuff out. I wouldn't take any of that for granted.
Congratulations!
ETA: Be sure your "birth plan" includes something about your condition. Sure they will have your chart, but having it right there on the birth plan makes it that much more in their mind. Maybe you could even include "nibbling crackers as needed due to my hypoglyemia issues" as part of your plan?
I don't understand birth plans at all. You can't plan a birth. However, I like the things you have listed here, and I would definitely outline those things. Especially the kangaroo care & breastfeeding wishes. Other than that & wishes for pain management (which could easily get tossed out the window), what else can you plan?
It starts from the moment you get to the hospital. .They can't help you before that.
I agree, just write what you wrote here.
- include permission for your husband/S.O. to get medical information about you and your baby (HIPPA waiver)
- Include your emergency contact information
- Include if there in anyone in the family that should not be admitted.
- Include if you want an epidural or not.
- Include if you need/want oxygen on hand (i have asthma, it helped)
- Include a list of current medications so that they can have them ready
Just jot down your preferences and hand him the list.
I told my doctor I want an epidural and it would be NICE not to have to have an episiotomy, but the goal here is to have as healthy a baby as possible so if an emergency pops up, do what you have to do and I'll be ok with it.
Our son was born on his due date and was large for his gestational age (9 lbs 1.5 oz), delivered vaginally after 36 hrs labor and they needed to stabilize his blood sugar for a few hours which was fine because they also needed to get control of my bleeding for a bit.
I think it all went well, but then I didn't have a lot of specific mandates or expectations, so I never felt any disappointment over how everything went.
Try this checklist for more ideas of things to include:
http://pregnant.thebump.com/pregnancy/pregnancy-tools/art...
And definitely include your BF wishes in there too, so they know that is what you want.
i think its a good idea also to ask when you should come to the hospital. when i had my son (i too live in Fernley) they had me come earlier in my labor as it is a 40 minute drive to St. Marys in Reno. i arrived when i was four cm. good luck and congrats.
I had a birth plan written out, an unlike others who have said it will set you up for disappointment, I was very happy with the way everything went. I did go in with an open mind though, knowing that it is not something that is set in stone. I used one from the bump as my inspiration. It was a few pages long, but did not seem lengthy because you don't write out paragraphs. There are lots of questions and you fill in the answers.
They gave us a form when we went for the hospital tour.
Make note of your Hypoglycemia.
Especially if this is not the same Doc that handled your pregnancy/delivery with your other previous kids.
Gosh, all I had specified with my Doctor was that, I wanted NO visitors... (besides my Husband/daughter), until I said I wanted visitors.
They put a sign on my hospital room, just in case there were drop-ins.
I hate drop-ins.
There is no absolute way to predict how a delivery will go.
With my first child, I ended up having to have an emergency c-section. After HOURS AND HOURS of being in labor. And my Doc had to do what he had to do, to save my baby. And I had absolutely NO food in me that whole time!
But yes, LIST down in bullet form, your wishes. And make sure, that your Husband knows as well.
Google birth plan. I just filled one out online, emailed it to myself, and printed it off for my dr. It should only include things you're wanting from the hospital, drs, and staff. You'll see a full list of options if you search it.
Hi Tia!
Congratulations on your being 33 weeks and on having such a great Dr. I am so excited that he asked for a Birth Plan, and takes it seriously.
My Birth plan looked very similar to Mira's plan, with bullets and everything, but with a few additions. My first child was a emergency c section so I really wanted to try natural childbirth, but above all wanted my baby and me to be healthy. The Dr. wanted a compromise that I was allowed to try natural child birth, but he wanted a shunt put into my hand for a IV in case of emergency. So I wrote that in my plan that I agreed to that. I went in and they put the iv in but it never was hooked up to anything.
The other things I added was that I wanted my husband to cut the umbilical cord and I also wanted my husband to tell me the sex of the baby. With my first child, she was such a emergency that they cut the cord and took her away, and I had no idea what the sex was.
I made maybe 10 copies and whenever there was a shift change, I made sure each person knew about it. It was important to me that once the baby was born that they didn't give him formula unless it was needed. They actually did give him formula and they had to fess up!
Good luck and Congrats again!!
