Oh, the birth plan. I had no idea such a thing existed until I got pregnant. And then, suddenly, I started coming across this concept EVERYWHERE! So for those of you who may have also missed the memo, here's what I'm talking about:
Birth Plan - It's basically self-explanitory. A birth plan is a written document, prepared by the mother, detailing her preferences for the labour and delivery (and recovery period while in hospital?). The doctors/nurses have access to this document and follow it as closely as possible so that the mother has a better chance of having a "good" experience with the arrival of her baby. Am I close?
So what is my birth plan? Well, I haven't given it a whole lot of thought yet, though I should probably start thinking about it soon. I am not a very "detail-driven" person to start with though. I do like to be organized, but when it comes to planning events, I tend to have a fairly loose agenda and a "go-with-the-flow" type mindset. Too many plans and details just stress me out more than make me feel in control. For instance, (sidenote) our wedding. I had some ideas of what I wanted, but mostly I just let things happen. Some people definitely got more stressed because of this - sorry - not knowing if things were going to get done or whatever. Totally understandable. But for me, as long as I know that the end goal with be accomplished (that I'll be married at the end of the day...that I'll have a baby to take home), I'm usually pretty flexible about how that happens.
There are, however, often a few things that I am particular about...and when I'm particular about something, be careful if you try to change it! : ) That said, I don't have many particulars about labour-delivery that aren't at least somewhat flexible.
So birth plan. True to my nature, I am pretty easy-going about the whole labour-delivery process. I am of the mindset that I'll take it as it comes and would rather not have too many ideas about how it is (or is not!) going to go down. The doctors know what they're doing and have done their job much more than I've done mine so I'll leave alot of it up to them. That said, my few preferances are as follows:
- avoid cesarean (c-section) as much as possible...though if, at any point, it becomes the safest option, I'm all for it
- avoid induction as much as possible...it's easy to say this now, but even if I go past my due date, I'd still prefer to go into labour naturally. That said, if safety becomes an issue, induce away!
- the big one: drugs or no drugs? I'd like to avoid medication during labour/delivery. This is a tough one, though, because I've never experienced labour before and have no idea how I'll handle the pain. I'd like to think that I have a reasonably high pain tolerance, but if I find that I just can't handle it and am panicking or unable to cope, I'll not hesitate to ask for pain medication. There are potential side-effects to drugs, though, so if at all possible, I'd like to go drug-free. That said, I don't want to make things harder on myself and everyone around me if pain medication is obviously the way to go. All I can say is time will tell!
- The ideal place for me to give birth would be a hospital. While home births sound far more relaxing and natural, I like the security of having medical personnel close by in case of an emergency. And I would like to avoid a car-en-route-to-hospital birth at all costs. : ) While do-able, I'd just rather not have that story to tell...
- My top priorities for this birth are: a healthy baby...a healthy mommy...beyond that, I'll just try to go with the flow. How's that for a middle child personality?
Another sidenote: Pictures of the baby-belly to come shortly. I'm at 28 weeks already...seriously, where is the time going? I'm so unbelievably excited to welcome this baby into our lives. I go through phases when I feel like this pregnancy is a new perma-state and I'll never be able to take drugs or do strenuous physical activity (or reach for something on the floor of the car) ever again, but then I remember that quite soon I will no longer be pregnant and I'll start to feel "normal" again and we'll have a new little baby around! Someone who will change our lives forever! A son or daughter! Wow...on the days when it hits me, it just seems too good to be true. Well, it always seems too good to be true, but some days it just feels like so much more of a reality! Whew...this is really happening...
5 comments:
Just so you know... Not all medical staff follow, or even read for that matter, birth plans. I found the most beneficial part is that my husband and doula and I were on the same page as to what we wanted, and that then they could advocate for me intelligently if and when I was not able to for myself.
I HIGHLY recommend hiring a doula. They are incredible helpful! If you don't know waht that is, it's basically a professional birth coach. Husbands are awesome, don't get me wrong! I wouldn't have wanted to do it without him, that said, he's never been through the birth experience and may not remember everything from prenatal classes, or information he's read, etc. Same goes for mom, sisters, girlfriends,... Birth is an extremely emotional experience for everyone involved, not just the mother!! So it's really nice to have someone completely on your side that knows how it all works, is experienced and can make suggestions of ways to help you cope better, especially if you plan on avoiding analgesics. In my experience, ours was fantastic. I don't think we could have done it without her. She allowed Brendan to take a break(to pee, get food, etc.) when he needed while offering him the peace of mind that someone was still with me. She also was a walking encylcopedia of techniques to relieve pain including positions, massage, etc. and was just incredibly supportave.
If it's something you're interested in, do some research. Most organizations offer a sliding scale so that cost won't be a deciding factor. To find one, go to http://www.dona.org/ That's the North American Doula association, and they have a search feature!
So that's my 2 cents on the birth experience.
You do have a high tolerance for pain. I remember forcing you to go to a clinic after that soccer accident. You couldn't even walk, but you refused to go. I'm still convinced in must have been a hairline fracture or something :)
My birth plan... make sure you actually go to the doctor :D
I think your birth 'plan' sounds pretty reasonable :) However, sometimes doctors and nurses are VERY pushy about drugs, and even if you may easily give birth without them, they don't stop pushing until you take them. Coming from personal experience here, my two non-medicated births were hard, yes, but SO MUCH better than when I got drugs. I felt 100 times better after my natural births than my medicated one. Especially the one that happened during the day instead of during the middle of the night, lol :)
I like your birth plan. I think if I had actually been allowed to make my own decisions (ie. if I had a singleton pregnancy) I would have had a very similar one.
Sounds like a good plan. As a heads up, my doctor told me that sometimes the nurses get a little defensive if you come in with a paper in your hand and say this is MY birth plan. So him and I talked about it and he suggested I just talk to the nurse right away. I found that worked awesome (too bad i had typed it all up already :) My experience was very positive and I found all my nurses very willing to follow my plan and I was a higher risk delivery being a month early and everyone said they would never let me do things my way, but they did and were awesome to all of us. The end is so close for you! So exciting :)
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