Tips for Figuring Out Your Birth Plan
Do you picture your delivery room quiet and dim, or will it be packed with rowdy friends? Do you envision a water birth, or have strong feelings about episiotomies and circumcision? It’s okay not to know the answers to those questions yet, but you won’t want to think about them while you’re in labor. A birth plan doesn’t have to be comprehensive to be useful, says Allie Sakowicz, a Chicago-based doula with more than five years experience. She shared some of what she’s learned helping countless clients create their own plans.
Don’t Rush It
You’ve probably been thinking about labor (or trying not to think about it) for months, but don’t commit to a birth plan right away. “I encourage expectant parents to start considering their options for labor and delivery in the early third trimester,” Sakowicz says. “Conversations with their doctor or midwife should begin at that point to ensure that there is plenty of time to ask questions and have a conversation about how the process may go.” You and your partner can start talking through your ideas early on, but hold off on creating the final birth plan until you’re a few months out.
Stray From Templates
“I advise all of my patients against using an online template,” Sakowicz says. “I feel that many of them are outdated and include options that would not be relevant to their labor and delivery experience.” However, she says, looking at some of these templates can be a useful way to start thinking about your potential birth wishes. You can get a sense of what things parents often include and what your options might be — then put other people’s plans aside while you figure out what you really want.
Prioritize, Prioritize, Prioritize
Not sure whether you’ll prefer to labor lying down or standing up? Don’t bother addressing it in writing. “When creating a birth plan, parents should only stick to writing down the things most important to them,” Sakowicz says. “This may include things like intermittent fetal monitoring or having dad announce the sex of the baby.” Remember, you don’t have to address every possibility of labor in your plan, and you can still make decisions on the fly.
Keep It Short and Sweet
You probably have a lot of wishes for your labor process, but resist the urge to fill a notebook with birth plan details. “I have found that the longer a birth plan is, the less likely the medical staff is to read it and follow it,” says Sakowicz. “The most successful birth plans I have seen are short, simple and direct and have been thoroughly discussed with the mother’s care provider before labor.” She suggests keeping the entire document to no longer than a page in length.
Kathryn Walsh is a freelance writer specializing in parenting and travel topics. Her work has appeared on mom.me, TheBump.com, and USAToday.com.