Beyond the Birth Plan
Posted by Moira on Feb 12, 2014 in Pregnancy & Birth | 1 comment Birth Plan. Two words that most expectant parents hear at some point during their pregnancy. In fact, all expectant parents are encouraged to create a birth plan these days, but it is a staple of an un-medicated birth. A birth plan is exactly what it sounds like – a plan for your birthing time. This can include information on the people you would like in the birthing room, requests about music and lighting, phrases and words that care providers should use, services you would like to accept or decline for mom and/or baby, a description of the pain management techniques being used, etc. Some birth plans are long and others are quite brief. There is no right or wrong way to write a birth plan and no specific template that must be followed. Regardless of how it is written, it helps the expectant parents to really spend time thinking about what they want to occur before, during, and after birth. It also encourages conversation with care providers before the big event. By sharing the birth plan early and often with care providers, it becomes much easier to work as a team with your care provider during the birth. The birth plan is an excellent tool for setting and communicating clear expectations. Many births go exactly as “planned”. We were fortunate enough to have one of those birth experiences. Everything went according to our plan. In our Hypnobabies birth preparation we envisioned our birth occurring a certain way. The only thing that didn’t go according to that visualization was the fact that our birthing time began at 3AM instead of 3PM. That change to our birth plan and visualization wasn’t a problem, although I felt bad waking up our doula at 3AM! **Hypnobabies students please use your bubble of peace.** The tricky thing is that birth plans are still just a plan. Plans don’t always get carried out just the way you envision. This can be very unsettling, upsetting, and even traumatic for expectant parents. One of my clients had a beautiful birth plan laid out. She took the LEAN Expectations class early in pregnancy and then completed the Hypnobabies birthing series with Julie Byers. She ate a healthy and varied diet, she practiced her birthing relaxation techniques, and prepared for the birth of her second baby. Her first birth had been medicated and she walked away from that birth...read more