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This n' That
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A birth plan should be a framework for your
ideas and thoughts surrounding your labour and delivery. This plan will help
you and your partner, as well as your birthing team understand what you would
like this birth experience to be for you. An informed birth is the best birth
so keep these points in mind:
- Know your options
- pre-natal classes, Family
doctor, obstetrician, doula and literature
- Examine your
feelings - Discussing a birth
plan with your partner allows you to be aware of each other's desires
then makes changes or compromises before you are in the labour room
- Consider your
priorities - Create a plan that
lists your priorities and allows for alternatives
- Evaluate your
situation - Are your choices
realistic? Are most of your choices openly supported by your birth team?
Will you compromise or make other arrangements?
- Discuss your
plans with your medical professional
- Prepare for a
positive experience - The right
attitude is 90% of the battle.
- Be flexible -
A beautiful birth experience is important and will have a
positive effect on the family which can last a lifetime. However, the health
and safety of mother and baby come first. If an emergency does occur, crucial
decisions must be made quickly, your birth plan must allow for such a
situation. This is YOUR birth plan and you are also free to change it whenever
and however you wish.
Things
to think about
Before
preparing a birth plan think about these points, consult with your doctor and
perhaps contact the birthing centre:
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When will you go to your birth place? |
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Will you and your coach ever be separated?
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What prepping procedures will you go through?
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How will the baby be monitored in labor? |
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Will you be free to move, walk, change positions at will?
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Will there be time limits on the length of your labor or pushing?
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What positions might you use to push? |
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How will you push? |
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Will you take pictures? |
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Will you breastfeed immediately? |
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Who will cut the cord? When will it be done?
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Will the baby ever be taken from the parents?
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When will you go home if you are in a hospital/birth center? |
Adapted from AAHCC Student workbook instructions for birth planning. (copyright
1989 AAHCC)
Layout
Your birth plan can be broken into several
areas:
1. General
information
2. Environment
3. 1st
Stage Labour – Early Labour
4. 1st Stage,
phase 2 – Active Labour
5. 2nd Stage –
Pushing & Delivery
6. 3rd
Stage – Delivery of Placenta
7. Immediate
Newborn Care
8. Postpartum
9. Other
Circumstances
1.
General Information
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Name of partner |
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Names of people
allowed to be in the labour room |
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Names of people
allowed to be in the birth room |
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Special religious
requests to be considered |
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What your preferred
choices are if overdue ie: medical induction (stripping membranes,
Prostaglandin gel etc.,) natural stimulation (walking, sexual intercourse,
castor oil etc.,) |
2.
Environment
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Dim lights |
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Music |
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Ban on student or
trainees |
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Wear your own
clothing |
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Bring your own pillow |
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Quiet environment ie:
hushed voices |
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Glasses or Contact
lenses on |
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Photographs/Video |
3. Stage 1
– Early Labour
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Vaginal exams |
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Food/Drink |
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IV |
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Fetal Monitoring |
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Free to move around
in labour |
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Labour augmentation
ie: pitocin, amniotic membrane ruptured |
4. Stage
1, Phase 2 – Active Labour
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Change Positions
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Pain Relief ie:
medical (narcotics) or non-medical (massage, shower, positioning, acupressure
etc.,) |
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Epidural (standard,
walking) |
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Nitrous Oxide |
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Birthing Equipment ie:
birthing balls, tubs etc., |
5. Stage 2
– Pushing & Delivery
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Pushing/Birth
Positions ie: squatting, birth bar, side-lying etc., |
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Episiotomy or
perineum massage ie: warm compress, oil etc., |
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Forceps/Vacuum
Extraction |
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Use of mirror |
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Touch baby’s head
when crowning |
| Directed vs spontaneous pushing |
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Photos/Video |
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Baby placed on
mother’s tummy immediately |
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Cutting umbilical
cord |
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Cord Banking |
6. Stage 3
– Delivery the Placenta
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See or keep the
placenta |
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Have the examination
explained |
7.
Immediate Newborn Care
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Breastfeeding |
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Who holds the baby |
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Photos/video |
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Circumcision |
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Baby bathed vs. wiped
and left with vernix |
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Pacifier/bottle |
8.
Postpartum
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Private Room |
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Visitors |
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Length of stay |
9. Other
Circumstances - what
are your wishes in a medical emergency
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