The birth plan is our support during childbirth and the basis for communication with the medical staff. Below you can download the template and edit it according to your needs. Lots of useful stuff on this blog, please use the search! Take care of yourself, the world rests on mothers.
Do I need to make a birth plan?
A birth plan is necessary not only because it helps to understand what awaits you, but also in order to create an ideal picture of the course of events in your head and program yourself for it. Childbirth doesn’t happen every day, and I want it to become a holiday — not for the doctor who “added a dot to his resume,” but for you and your little one.
This experience is unique and fascinating not only as a phenomenon, but also for each one in particular: millions of women have given birth on this planet, but are there even a couple of identical births? But it never happens twice, as Wislawa Szymborska said in her poem, although we are always looking for commonalities for the sake of the happiness of separation.
You can find many such plans online, but I did not find a better one than the one that was given to me at the hospital where I gave birth, and based on it I would like to create a kind of template that any expectant mother could use as a basis , take into account everything to the maximum and simply wipe off the excess. Maybe you can’t know better than a doctor, but you have the right to your wishes, and I’m a firm believer in intuition.
A medical decision is the result of cooperation: it is your duty to describe in detail what is bothering you, and the duty of the doctor to analyze it and compare it with his own and the world’s experiences. In childbirth, the doctor’s task is rather to be an inconspicuous observer and intervene if necessary (well, I’m not talking about a planned cesarean section). Know your rights, be prepared for anything and make your dreams come true. Discuss your plan with your doctor or keep it with you in case of surprises.
Birth plan template
Birth plan
Name:
Expected date of birth:
Blood type:
Please note that I have:
(any features, gestational diabetes, group B streptococcus, allergies that the doctor needs to know about).
My birth is planned as: vaginal / cesarean / water birth / vaginal after cesarean
Whom I would like to be present at the birth:
husband / parents / doula / other (specify name and contact number)
all the time / to leave during the active part of labor / to stay overnight
During childbirth, I would like to:
music / dimmed lights / put on own clothes / maximum silence / for my partner to take photos/videos
to ask my permission for any manipulation
to explain any manipulation to me
other
I would like to experience contractions while standing / lying down / walking / in the shower / in the bathroom
For anesthesia, I would like to use: breathing techniques / hypnosis / massage / water / meditation / reflexology / epidural / hypnobirth / nothing
Please don’t give me an enema / urinary catheter
During pushing stage, I would like to:
squat / bend over / lie on side / be on hands and knees / stand / lean on partner / use foot pedals for support
use a birthing chair / rope / fitball / be in the bathroom / be in the shower / other
I would like an amniotomy
only if it is really necessary
only if the cervix is fully dilated
I would like an episiotomy:
yes / no
only as a last resort / if the doctor deems it necessary / if there is a threat of rupture / no, even if there is a threat of rupture
with local anesthesia / without anesthesia
Immediately after birth, I would like to:
have umbilical cord is cut only after it has pulsated
to have the umbilical cord cut by the partner
have no oxytocin
to give birth to the placenta spontaneously without assistance
see the placenta
take away the placenta
If a cesarean section is necessary, I would like:
make sure the rest of the options are exhausted / stay conscious / my hands are free to touch the baby / the doctors commenting on the progress of the operation
epidural anesthesia / spinal anesthesia
I would like to hold the baby immediately after birth / after weighing / after it is wiped and wrapped
I would like to breastfeed as soon as possible / later / never
I would like to have procedures with the child
held in my presence / held in the presence of my partner / held after we have been together for a while
included vaccination against hepatitis b
other
Please don’t give my baby vitamin K / formula / vaccine
Please do not wash / clear the respiratory tract / instill the eyes of my child
Thank you,
Signature
