When Should I Create a Birth Plan and What Should it Include?
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You can begin planning your birthing experience as soon as you want. Some couples who have been trying to conceive for a while may even have much of their birth plan in mind before they are pregnant! In general, you want to make sure that your birth plan is complete no later than around your 35th week of pregnancy. This gives you time to communicate your plan to your health care provider, and to find out if there are things that could hamper your birth plan. On the other hand, your birth plan may need adjusted after your first trimester, as you discover any risk issues related to your pregnancy.
Your birth plan can include as much or as little as you want it to. Many moms-to-be find that a few simple paragraphs will do; others wind up with a dozen or more pages. Most people wind up somewhere in between. Some of the types of things to include in your birth plan might be:
- Where your baby will be born.
- When you will go to the birthing location.
- Whether or not you wish to use pain medications. This can include a list of specific medications, for example.
- What the role of the father or coach will be, whether he will be present and at what points, and whether he will be cutting the cord.
- Who else will be allowed during the birth and afterwards.
- What sorts of baby monitoring you wish to have during labor.
- What sorts of preparatory procedures you are willing to go through, such as a desire to use or not use pitocin to help your contractions along.
- Details about pushing, such as how you will push, in what positions, and a limit on the length of pushing
- What kinds of testing and IVs you will allow.
- What kinds of clothing you will wear during labor.
- Under what circumstances will you permit an episiotomy.
- Whether your baby is to be circumcised.
- Whether you will be breastfeeding or not.
The most important thing to keep in mind with a birth plan is, perhaps, the need for flexibility. Sometimes, it will be medically necessary to go against your birth plan. Sometimes, you may change your mind in the middle of labor about pain relief. Circumstances might prevent your husband or coach from being in attendance. It may be that your labor is incredibly short, and you don’t have time after reaching the birthing center to even deal with many of the issues in your birth plan. While you can include “backup” plans as a part of your birth plan, it is important to understand that you can’t predict every outcome in advance.
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