Writing a Birth Plan

Did you read Jessica's Guest post yesterday?  Can you believe they didnt bring her baby to her for 4 hours after he was born!?!! Seriously that is just gdfkl#dtrhgdjfhjk$ksjk!!!! All I can do is go berserk on my keyboard...there are no words. Just plain wrong to keep a baby away from a new mom for that long....and ruined any chance she had at breast feeding, which I know she was looking forward to doing.  So it got me thinking about what can a Momma learn from this and how to try to avoid this happening to you..... birth plans.....

FYI-A Birth Bootcamp Class will go into much better detail about what needs to go into a birth plan and they will help you write one... But I will do my best...

Birth plans are very important, multiple scenario birth plans are even more important, especially with the high rate of c-sections we have.... dont forget to include your wishes for just after the baby is born, how your baby is to be handled. Its all about ensuring you and your family get the respect you deserve at such a momentous time in your lives.  When you go into labor bring multiple copies of your Birth Plans to make sure everyone (Doc/ Staff/ Nurses) are on the same page and tape that bad boy on the door of your room so that anyone that comes in knows your wishes....

***Another tip is to print them on colored paper so it doesn't get lost in any paperwork on a desk in the hospital.

*** Birth Plans are not rude or demanding in nature, they are respectful and polite.

***A good plan must be flexible and cover a variety of scenarios.  Things can happen and progress so fast, decisions are made quickly and its good to have something on paper for your husband and Doc to reference if you are unable to communicate effectively (which will likely be the case)

 If you don't think you need one....well, you cant blame anyone but yourself if you are unhappy after its all said and done! 

For my first kiddo I was such a know it all....I was having a homebirth and that was that....I had no need to write a birth plan.....and guess who ended up going to the hospital, this girl <---

You can read my birth story here

But I did have a well educated husband on my side if need be and a verbal birth plan in the form of my lovely Midwife Toni, she knew what I wanted and helped ensure that it happened. Toni made sure I got the pro-natural Doc I wanted, and the staff probably already had an assumption about me (with my attempted home birth & midwife).   I dont know if you've noticed, but I dont mind speaking up and asking questions....that is courtesy of being a flight attendant for 5 yrs...you dont have to be rude, just have to communicate...otherwise how will people know?

I WILL be writing a birth plan for this birth, just in case.  

What if I have to have an emergency C-section tomorrow? I really should have something ready just in case so that the staff knows I want that baby to stay with me as much as possible and that I want to breastfeed....

I found an excellent sample birth plan on this blog.  

Its very nice, respectful and detailed as well. 

** One suggested update is to change the heparin lock to a saline lock which its more commonly referred to now.

Ok, well there you have it....write your birth plans and dare them to take 4 hours to bring your baby to you!

Tomorrow I talk about health insurance coverage and trying to save some money