3 Tips For Writing a Better Birth Plan

Writing a Birth Plan is a little like composing a wish list. You know what you want, you're just not sure if you are going to get it. Women have been criticized by health care providers as if by creating a birth plan we are trying to control the birth process. Nothing could be farther from the truth. A birth plan is more about respecting a woman's right to birth as naturally as she desires, honoring her personal preferences and wishes. By laboring unhindered by unnecessary medical interventions, a woman increases her chances of birthing her child spontaneously and naturally.

When writing a birth plan it is important to keep three things in mind.

1. Be specific.
2. Be brief.
3. Be positive. 

Specific Requests:

• Direct communication is necessary. 
• Clearly state the things that are most important to you.

Brevity:

• Bullet points communicate your wishes in fewer words.
• Lengthy birth plans can put your healthcare provider on the defensive. 

Positive:

• Phrase your requests with positive words, such as "freedom to move around" instead of "do not make me stay in bed."
• State clearly that your plans are in anticipation of a healthy birth for you and your baby and that you are flexible if the course of your labor takes an unexpected turn.

Your baby's birth~day is one of the most important days of your life. It is a day that will impact you as a woman and as a mother. Take the time to carefully think through how you want to labor and birth your baby and communicate that to your birth team. A wise health care provider will listen to you and enter into discussions on what is realistic. If your birth team is not open to such discussion, it may be time to hire a different one.

Top Three Questions to Ask Your Doctor or Midwife

When choosing a midwife or doctor to attend your upcoming birth, it is important to establish what their philosophy of birth is. There are three questions you can ask to see if you and your potential caregiver are on the same page.


1) Will I have the freedom to move around freely?

• Walking, swaying, rocking, standing in the shower, sitting on the toilet, kneeling, hands and knees, etc. are all very important. That helps baby align himself in the pelvis correctly. If they keep you in bed, baby doesn't have enough room to adjust, then he gets stuck or doesn't descend well.

2) Can I choose my own birth position?

• Lying on your back benefits ONLY the doctor/ midwife, not you or baby. In fact it is much harder to give birth on your back, that is why so many women end up with episiotomies, forceps, vacuum extractor, cesareans. An upright position makes use of gravity.

3) Will I have the freedom to eat and drink in labor?

• This is important because you will be working very hard, and you need to be nourished. If you are denied nourishment, many times the uterus just stops working efficiently if it has been a long labor.

Everything else (amniotomy, electronic fetal monitors, I.V.'s, episiotomies, etc.) are also important, but those are questions to be asked after the first three are answered to your satisfaction.

If they truly support women birthing naturally, they will not have difficulty answering these three basic questions. If not, keep searching. There are caregivers who support women in birth.

You just have to find them.