help with birth plan please

skint_spice

Good luck - hope it all goes well for you. I had bad baby related sciatica too and that was almost worse than the birth! I also got lectured for not having a birth plan and was forced to dictate one while in labour... basically it said I wanted as little intervention/drugs as possible but reserved the right to change my mind as things progressed! still I got by fine on gas and air but have heard various stories from pals that all their pregnancies were completely different so how much can you plan...

Doozergirl

I'm glad people have helped you

I didn't write anything down at all for either but I am very sure that I was always asked what I wanted, or I could simply ask for it. By the time you become too crazy to speak coherently, the only though in your mind is getting the baby out, any way it will come!

What is important, over writing anything down is that you understand the processes, drugs etc enough to know what you would choose *given a choice*.

The clock is really ticking now! I wish you and little one the very best of luck

modgit

Jot some things down, but they will probably fly out of the window. Until you get there you don't know how well you can / can't cope with the pain. Everyone's labour is so different I've had 3 and they all were.
The only thing I would say is make sure whoever's attending the birth with you knows roughly what you want. I was pretty much out of it on gas and air (!), and knew that DH would go with what I wanted, and with DS3 told the midwife as I got in, "he knows exactly what I want, so whatever he says is ok!"
Looking forward to hearing of your new arrival!

wendym

Birth plans weren't around when I had my two, but they both had plans of their own and what I would have liked would have been irrelevant.

Don't plan too much - one of my daughter's friends had a really detailed plan, and the fact that the baby didn't stick to it made her miserable after the birth, instead of relieved and happy.

heather38

i didn't have one and when i went to hospital in labour my midwife came in and chatted to me about what i wanted. my DH knows i have a phobia of needles and told the mw to only give one if i was really out of it if she wanted to keep her teeth!!
i would go with the flow, but say if you want the injections for you and baby and if you want skin to skin but i got asked everything all over again when they had a shift change anyway.
good luck with the birth. oh and enjoy the gas and air!!

poppyscorner

Hi newbie,

I have had three babies the first two I didn't have a plan 1st was nine weeks early and second was a planned induction at 39wks. Third baby I had a lovely C/M through my pregnancy and she came to my home when I was 37wks and we planned my birth what I learned was plan nothing yes I had one but none of that happened I ended up a emergency section and was gutted my plan didn't work.

My advice would be don't plan have a general idea what you want and discuss this with your birthing partner/s.

On a seperate note and apologies to anyone who is a nice one but what is it with Dr's receptionists ours are like the mafia and refuse to allow you to speak to anyone what really gets me mad is when I ring for an appt and they ask what is wrong with me.

My reply of course you can ............. when you are qualified to treat me.
Like I say apologies to anyone who is a dr's receptionist and nice I just have yet to come across them at our surgery.

As someone above said is there not a C/M base number you can call I had one of these written in my mat notes and that was great.

Good luck for the birth chill and enjoy:D

poppy

inkie

Newbie71 - My experience is that I wrote my own birth-plan (I am a midwife!), but I would not expect my mums to write their own - it needs to be done with a full and frank discussion with your midwife. The more I read these boards, i am appalled at the lack of care that people seem to be receiving. It's nothing to do with variations in areas - it's all to do with wanting to give the best care possible to mums and babies and professional accountability. When working on community - each of the mums on my caseload would receive a 'birth visit' before 36 weeks (in their own home). I would schedule an appointment for about 1 1/2 hours to go through everything with them and also conduct an ante-natal examination to save them having to traipse to the clinic that week.

Js_Other_Half

inkie wrote: »

When working on community - each of the mums on my caseload would receive a 'birth visit' before 36 weeks (in their own home). I would schedule an appointment for about 1 1/2 hours to go through everything with them and also conduct an ante-natal examination to save them having to traipse to the clinic that week.

That would have been nice...lol

I had to actively pursue getting a birth plan written - and it took two different midwives to actually manage it!(One at a hospital visit, and one at home. It wasn't very complicated - no pethidine, no episiotomy if at all avoidable, and skin to skin contact with baby asap.) I ended up with a C Section at 40 +2 having never gone into labour as I had gestational diabetes.
It was very calm and very positive.:D

happysinglemum

I wrote out a very basic birth plan for ds. I definitely wanted TENS & gas & air. Didn't really want any other type of pain relief, but was prepared to go with whatever was necessary to get him out safely. Wanted hubby with me at all times - he wasn't - had to go & buy me some lucozade to get contractions going again once we arrived in delivery suite (they'd been every 2 mins for 2 hours before we got there)! So take some lucozade with you just in case - otherwise it'd have been a drip. It made me very sick, but got contractions going again quickly! No drip necessary.

I ended up begging for pethidine, but it was too late in the day for it - they said ds would arrive within 30 mins - and they were right! lol I even said I'd just refuse to push unless they gave me pethidine (that gave them all a good laugh!!!).

At 7.45pm they said 'if baby isn't born within the next 10 mins we'll have to have a forceps delivery (I'd been pushing for 2 hours). At 7.53pm, ds was born! :rotfl:

themaccas

Hi
Please don't worry too much about your birthplan, the information that the midwife will want to really know about is:

What pain relief you are planning on using - if you don't know she will explain your choices and you can change your mind.

Do you want Synotmetrine injection for delivering the placenta (recommended if you are anaemic)

How do you want to feed your baby

Do you want your baby to have vitamin K

Are you happy for a Student Midwife or Doctor to be involved in your care

If absolutely necessary and clinically indicated, would you consent to an episiotomy. (Usully performed with a ventouse/forceps delivery)

The people that go with the flow and are openminded usually do really well.
Good luck and let us know how you get on.