A birth plan is just that. A plan.
However, every pregnant woman should have a birth plan nonetheless. Though one should be decided on how you are going to deliver your baby, you should always be prepared for anything that could happen. Needless to say, discuss all possibilities with your ob-gyne and have a plan B just in case plan A fails.
Elizabeth Stein – a leading women's health expert and Certified Nurse Midwife who heads up the NYC practice AskYourMidwife.com – explains why a birth plan is important and how to create one that meets each pregnant woman's needs.
Here's Elizabeth Stein's top tips for creating a birth plan:
1. Remember, your baby is going to come when the baby wants to come. Your baby is in charge. Your baby does not read the due date on the prenatal chart or your sonogram report. Your due date is used to manage the pregnancy to schedule prenatal appointments, schedule tests, sonograms and an induction if necessary.
2. Know exactly who will deliver you. Does your midwife or physician belong to a group? If that person is not on call the day you go into labor, who will actually deliver you? Clarify this so you are not disappointed.
3. Rest up. Labor is like running a marathon. Save your energy spurt for when you are in labor. When you get that energy spurt that predates labor, save it inside of you. Don't waste your energy cleaning the kitchen or bathroom.
4. Stay home as long as possible unless told by you midwife or physician to go the hospital. It is more comfortable to labor at home in familiar surroundings than the hospital. If you have no risk factors you may labor at home. Early labor can last many hours so don't become exhausted. Eat, drink, walk, rock and take a shower.
5. Know when you should go to the hospital. You should go to the hospital immediately if your water breaks or you are group B strep positive or have a medical or obstetrical reason and were told to go straight to the hospital. Talk to your midwife or physician to find out exactly when they want you to call them or go directly to the hospital.
(There are five more tips for ceating a birth plan from Elizabeth Stein, I'll provide the link once it becomes available.)
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