The day you give birth is one of the most important days of life and you can plan the way you want your labour to be. A birth plan is an outline of your preferences during labour and birth. You will have to be flexible and understand, not everything will go as planned. But some basic things can happen as per your wish and need
You will find many formats on the internet for writing a birth plan but it is highly recommended to use your own unique format and make it simple. The doctors and nurses would not appreciate a very complicated birth plan.
Think about your requirements and pen it down. Talk to your friends who have recently delivered babies and understand what they felt about the preferences they had made.
Introduction
Mention your and your partner’s name and your doctor and your hospital’s details.
Ambience & Atmosphere
You can mention what makes you feel most comfortable. Make notes of how many people you want around you at one given point. Do you like silence or would you prefer some music? How much light would make you feel good?
Kind of Labour
If you have decided to try normal delivery first, you should mention how you are prepared with pain management. Very few women want C-section but youought to be ready for one. You should mention options for C-section like your level of unconsciousness and if you want to have skin contact with your baby immediately after birth or otherwise.
Pain Relief
Pain management is important during labour. Talk to your doctor beforehand and decide on medicine. You may want to change it during or post labour and that’s fine but please note down the first choice. If you would like some massage for pain relief, you can mention that as well.
Other considerations
You should mention if you want to be told the gender of your baby or would you like to find out yourself. You could also mention if you would like to keep a mirror during birth or no, whether you want your partner to be a part of the entire pregnancy or just during a few stages.
Once you are happy with the birth plan you have written, share it with your partner and midwife. Be prepared of last moment changes that you may have to face.
