Birth Plan

If someone had asked me six months ago what a birth plan was, I think I would have looked at them with a blank stare.

But now that I'm eyeing my third trimester, it's becoming clear to me just how important the decisions around labor and delivery are. And even more important is making sure that the people around you (midwife, partner, hospital staff, etc.) know EXACTLY what you want and don't want.

So that's where a birth plan comes into play. There's a tool on the Baby Center website (which I love, by the way) that has you answer a bunch of questions and then creates a birth plan for you.

Here's my first draft:

Ryan and Brian's Birth Plan
Date: April 22, 2006
Birth Attendant: Midwife
Birth Facility: VCU Hospital, Richmond, Virginia

ATTENDANTS AND AMENITIES
I'd like the following people to be present during labor and/or birth:

• Partner: Brian

I'd also like:
• To bring music

• To dim the lights

• To wear my own clothes during labor and delivery

• To take pictures and/or film during labor and delivery

LABOR
I'd like the option of returning home if I'm not in active labor.

Once I'm admitted, I'd like:
• My partner to be allowed to stay with me at all times
• To eat if I wish to
• To stay hydrated by drinking clear fluids instead of having an IV
• To walk and move around as I choose

As long as the baby and I are doing fine, I'd like:
• To have intermittent rather than continuous electronic fetal monitoring.
• To be allowed to progress free of stringent time limits.

If they're available, I'd like to try:
• A birthing stool
• A birthing chair
• A squatting bar
• A birthing pool/tub

When it's time to push, I'd like to:
• Be coached on when to push and for how long

I'd like to try the following positions for pushing (and birth):
• Whatever feels right at the time

As long as my baby and I are doing fine, I'd like the pushing stage to be allowed to progress free of stringent time limits

PAIN RELIEF
I'd like to try the following pain-management techniques:
• Acupressure
• Bath/shower
• Breathing techniques/distraction
• Hot/cold therapy
• Self-hypnosis
• Massage

If I decide I want medicinal pain relief, I'd prefer:
• Regional analgesia (an epidural and/or spinal block)

VAGINAL BIRTH
I'd like:
• To view the birth using a mirror
• To touch my baby's head as it crowns
• To risk a tear rather than have an episiotomy

After birth, I'd like:
• To hold my baby right away, putting off any procedures that aren't urgent
• To breastfeed as soon as possible
• To wait until the umbilical cord stops pulsating before it's clamped and cut
• My partner to cut the umbilical cord
• Not to get routine oxytocin (Pitocin) after I deliver the placenta

C-SECTION
If I have a c-section, I'd like:
• My partner present at all times during the operation
• The screen lowered a bit so I can see my baby coming out
• The baby given to my partner as soon as he's dried (as long as he's in good health)
• To breastfeed my baby in the recovery room

POSTPARTUM
After delivery, I'd like:
• All newborn procedures to take place in my presence
• My partner to stay with the baby at all times if I can't be there
• To stay in a private room
• To have a cot provided for my partner

I plan to:
• Breastfeed exclusively

The following can be offered to my baby:
• Pacifier

I'd like my baby fed:
• On demand

I'd like:
• To make my decision later depending on how I'm feeling (as to where the baby stays, i.e. with me all the time or in a nursery)