That sounds perfect. You covered all the main things I think. The usually ask you most of that again while you are going along, they did for me, however I didn't do a birth plan.
Post by shekels1222 on Mar 25, 2014 20:18:23 GMT -5
Sounds really good. You hit all the major points. It's great to have something in place so that those around you know your wishes but don't be too strict about following your birth plan to a tee. I think some women set themselves up for disappointment when things don't go exactly as planned. It just isn't possible to predict how you/the baby will react during L&D.
Personal example I wanted a med free labor but had no clue my labor would completely stop out at 8 cm dilated and I had to get pitocin. Pitocin contractions suck. So I ended up getting an epi which I hated. Looking back I didn't follow my birth plan exactly but my son is here and healthy and none of it matters.
Newb question: How necessary is this? All I know is I want pain meds (YES) and everything to be OK (which I know is the goal, but can't always be controlled!).
Are there reasons to have these things in place? Is it suggested to have this?
(not being snarky about having one, I just never knew they existed and was wondering if I'm missing a necessity in my planning)
Newb question: How necessary is this? All I know is I want pain meds (YES) and everything to be OK (which I know is the goal, but can't always be controlled!).
Are there reasons to have these things in place? Is it suggested to have this?
(not being snarky about having one, I just never knew they existed and was wondering if I'm missing a necessity in my planning)
I felt the same way. The only reason I made one is because my midwife asked me about it three appointments in a row. She basically said it helps them give you the care you want. I do think reading over the templates online was helpful for me because it told me what kinds of options there are. Some things I truly have no opinion or preference on right now, like how often the baby should be monitored or what types of labor augmentation could be used. But other things I found I did care about as I sat and thought about it (like breastfeeding/bonding with my baby for a while before getting visitors and getting an LC to visit as soon add possible afterwards), I realized I did have thoughts on.
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I didn't even realize there were options.
I also thought birth plans were just things like playing music or other extras. Had no clue they covered normal thing and, again, that there were options! I need a manual.
I feel this week I've been slapped in the face with reality that I'm really having a baby. Reading your birth plan was another smack. Stupid thing but I just realized I will not be walking over to watch the nurse clean up the baby, weigh it etc. I will be getting cleaned up myself in a bed. Lol
I might copy this birth plan and tweek it a little. I plan for a med free birth as long as it doesn't go over 12 hours. At the 12 hour mark bring on the drugs. I had a major surgery last year. Morphine didn't help the pain the first 12 hours after surgery. I figure if I can go through that pain I can make 12 hours of labor.
I felt the same way. The only reason I made one is because my midwife asked me about it three appointments in a row. She basically said it helps them give you the care you want. I do think reading over the templates online was helpful for me because it told me what kinds of options there are. Some things I truly have no opinion or preference on right now, like how often the baby should be monitored or what types of labor augmentation could be used. But other things I found I did care about as I sat and thought about it (like breastfeeding/bonding with my baby for a while before getting visitors and getting an LC to visit as soon add possible afterwards), I realized I did have thoughts on.
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I didn't even realize there were options.
I also thought birth plans were just things like playing music or other extras. Had no clue they covered normal thing and, again, that there were options! I need a manual.
Newb question: How necessary is this? All I know is I want pain meds (YES) and everything to be OK (which I know is the goal, but can't always be controlled!).
Are there reasons to have these things in place? Is it suggested to have this?
(not being snarky about having one, I just never knew they existed and was wondering if I'm missing a necessity in my planning)
It depends. I didn't write anything out last time, but I did think about things like drugs, doing skin to skin, breastfeeding, etc. I told H, and felt he could communicate on my behalf if needed.
When we got admitted into L & D, the nurse actually asked a lot of birth plan-type questions and, wrote my answers on a.dry erase board in the room so that every doctor or nurse knew my wishes.
Post by sewpinkgal on Mar 25, 2014 23:51:18 GMT -5
I didn't have a birth plan other than a safe delivery for mom and baby. I did ask my OB ahead of time about episiotomies and she said that for her they are incredibly rare, but that I had a good chance of tearing. Fair enough.
I had a very smooth L&D experience and a lot of things you have mentioned on your birth plan naturally happened without me asking for it - baby immediately on my chest after delivery, holding him while he was being examined and I was being stitched up, etc. They did make me wait until I was completely repaired to start BFing though, which in hindsight was fine. I was at a very baby friendly hospital, which I'm sure influenced how they proceeded. I think your plan looks good, especially since you're obviously very open to things changing if they need to to keep you and baby safe/healthy.
Post by amaristella on Mar 26, 2014 0:00:51 GMT -5
It's good to be specific like that. You really want to get that to your midwife/hospital soon that way you can find out if any of that conflicts with hospital policy that way if you need to change any of your expectations you can do it now instead of later. A lot of it you or your husband will end up needing to repeat and confirm as you go along but it's still a good idea to have gone over it in advance.
Our hospital does a lot of the things I want "standard", but it's still good to have your desires written out just in case.
Odonata, the "options" will depend a lot on where you give birth and what their normal procedures are. You can look up a lot of options online and do research to see how you feel about them. A lot of hospitals will automatically do skin-to-skin now, unless you specifically don't want to, or unless there is some kind of medical issue. Circumcision is definitely something to think about if you're having a boy (and probably something you want to decide on before you go into the hospital). Otherwise, a lot of your preferences might have to go out the window if circumstances change.
Hi. I haven't dusted off my previous birth plan yet, but wanted to comment on a few things regarding yours:
- Eating/drinking as much as you want may not be allowed, whether it's in your birth plan or not. I don't know if this has changed since I gave birth the first time, but back then it was considered a risk in case you had to have a C-section. You can probably still sneak food in, but I wouldn't call attention to it in the birth plan. (Your midwife may be able to give you better information.)
- Do you know the policy on overnight guests at your place of delivery? Ours only allowed the partner to stay if you paid for a private room, which was not covered by my insurance. DH ended up staying anyway because the night I arrived, there were no extra rooms at all, even shared. So I spent the night in the same L & D room (not too comfortable, but I was so exhausted it didn't matter).
- some doctors just won't do episiotomies at all, so definitely use your birth plan as a jumping point for a discussion about this, as well as a discussion about forceps (my doctor won't use forceps, either, no matter what).
- and finally, you may want to clarify/include something about whether you want the baby to room-in with you or not. And whether you want nurses to wake you periodically to breastfeed if you plan to BF.
I think this looks great. I think its good that you do cover some extra possibilities (such as the c-section) if they become necessary. I want to make sure mine has contingencies too as my plan is to have a very loose plan, but be flexible as situations arise. I should probably get started on putting something together too.
eyes and thighs? are you going to allow antibiotic eye ointment and vitamin K administration immediately after birth, delayed, or not at all? if not at all, be aware you'll have to sign some waiver forms. and many hospitals won't do circumcisions if you don't allow vitamin K--it is given to help their blood clot and prevent internal hemorrhaging or excess bleeding during blood tests and/or circumcision.
Post by thatgirl2478 on Mar 26, 2014 12:43:46 GMT -5
FYI - depending on the hospital and their standard for epidural placement, you will probably NOT be allowed to walk around / change positions / get in a water bath once that epidural is placed. From my own experience (and mine was different because I was induced) I was able to walk around before I got the epidural, but once that was in they wouldn't let me because I wouldn't be able to feel my legs and if I fell it would be a liability issue. In fact, as soon as the epidural took effect, they catheterized me so I wouldn't even have to get up to pee.
I feel like the rest (at least from my experience) is pretty standard & you wouldn't need to actively request it. However, in the event of a Cesarian, you won't (again, my experience) be able to hold/nurse your baby right away. They need about 20 - 30 min to sew you up, then you spend about an hour in recovery so you can be closely monitored before you are moved to your final recovery room.
ETA - my birth plan was: Go to the hospital, and - as safely as possible - have a healthy baby. My birth plan for #2 is the same, but with a scheduled Cesarian.
FYI - depending on the hospital and their standard for epidural placement, you will probably NOT be allowed to walk around / change positions / get in a water bath once that epidural is placed. From my own experience (and mine was different because I was induced) I was able to walk around before I got the epidural, but once that was in they wouldn't let me because I wouldn't be able to feel my legs and if I fell it would be a liability issue. In fact, as soon as the epidural took effect, they catheterized me so I wouldn't even have to get up to pee.
I feel like the rest (at least from my experience) is pretty standard & you wouldn't need to actively request it. However, in the event of a Cesarian, you won't (again, my experience) be able to hold/nurse your baby right away. They need about 20 - 30 min to sew you up, then you spend about an hour in recovery so you can be closely monitored before you are moved to your final recovery room.
this is where hospitals are different. in mine, the mother labors, delivers, and recovers in the same room (we have LDRP rooms, but we typically transfer to postpartum after 2-3 hours recovery for vag and c/s deliveries). so a mom is assigned to a room prior to a c/s, then brought back to the OR for the procedure. when the baby is born, we stabilize him in the OR, then bring him back to mom's room (usually dad is present) to finish exam, footprints, meds, etc. by the time mom is sewn up and brought back to her room, the baby is swaddled and ready to eat. so we can start breastfeeding about 30 minutes after birth.
eyes and thighs? are you going to allow antibiotic eye ointment and vitamin K administration immediately after birth, delayed, or not at all? if not at all, be aware you'll have to sign some waiver forms. and many hospitals won't do circumcisions if you don't allow vitamin K--it is given to help their blood clot and prevent internal hemorrhaging or excess bleeding during blood tests and/or circumcision.
What are the arguments against the ointment and vitamin injection? I lean towards 'do whatever is standard' in general.
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mostly it's lack of knowledge and "I don't want foreign stuff in my baby" and other internet hysterics. once we explain what the medications are for, I am typically allowed to give them. only twice that I know of in the past year and a half I've been attending deliveries, have parents not allowed either medication. some moms don't want the eye goo in their baby's eyes because a) they think their baby can see them during breastfeeding (they can see shapes and contrast but can't really focus at that age) or they're afraid the ointment burns their eyes (it doesn't, I've tested it myself). many do choose to delay medications to allow for bonding, which is fine by me, but it means I have to leave the eye goo on during the bath and wipe it off later.
Well obviously I will follow hospital procedures. Wouldn't it be really dangerous to lie about food consumption BECAUSE of the risk of c-section? If they know I've eaten they can account for that with the anesthesia, but if I snuck it in and lied and things went south fast, that seems like a really bad idea. If they say no, okay, but it's something that is my ideal preference so I think it should be known.
Okay, just wanted to point it out. I ate and drank whatever I wanted throughout my labor. I wasn't being sneaky, I just decided to labor at home for as long as possible. I didn't think I was being terribly irresponsible since you need a fair amount of energy to keep on keeping on through labor and sometimes ice chips just don't cut it.
Okay, just wanted to point it out. I ate and drank whatever I wanted throughout my labor. I wasn't being sneaky, I just decided to labor at home for as long as possible. I didn't think I was being terribly irresponsible since you need a fair amount of energy to keep on keeping on through labor and sometimes ice chips just don't cut it.
I don't think eating and drinking is irresponsible at all! I wasn't being snarky.
You mentioned 'sneaking in food' and 'not calling attention to it in the birth plan'... that's the only part I disagreed with. I think the no-food rule is due to impact on anesthesia and so I think it would be safest for the anesthesiologist to know if I have eaten.
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I agree with this. please don't sneak food (this is to the board in general). we sometimes have stat c/s where mom and/or baby is not doing well and we have to put mom under general anesthesia immediately to get baby out asap. these are few and far between, thankfully, but that is the reasoning. some of our OBs will allow clear liquids, including popsicles, so you can have fluids and energy.