What is a birth plan?

A birth plan is a kind of scenario prepared by the mother-to-be and includes information on preferences for the birth itself, but also for the care of the newborn and the woman after the birth. In most hospitals, women in labor receive special forms upon admission. However, it’s worth considering while you’re still pregnant and preparing a birth plan quietly, after consulting with your doctor or midwife.

A document such as a birth plan should be respected by medical personnel during the stay of the woman and the newborn in the hospital. However, it happens that some situations cannot be avoided. In such a situation, doctors’ actions may go beyond the birth plan prepared by the woman. It should also be remembered that a woman in labor has the right to change her mind and her decisions, which she marked in the birth plan, and the medical staff should respect this.

Division of the birth plan

It is a good idea to divide the birth plan into sections related to the preparation for the birth and the course of the birth, and to indicate your desire to have attendants. It is very important not to skip the section on the care of the newborn child. After all, for many moms, skin-to-skin contact immediately after delivery is very important. Often women also write down in the birth plan a request for medical staff not to feed the baby modified milk or not to vaccinate the children while the Parent is away.

By highlighting the different parts in a birth plan, midwives are able to quickly find a woman’s preference for a particular issue. Moreover, a prepared plan, even in the case of an emergency cesarean section, is also extremely useful, especially in terms of prenatal care, postnatal care and taking care of the newborn.

Birth plan-template

There are many templates available on the Internet on the basis of which future mothers create their birth plan. Every birth plan should include paragraphs on:

1. expectations of the delivery room and the conditions of delivery-e.g., the presence of a shower, ways to relieve labor pains such as ladders or balls, the ability to listen to the music of your choice or assume the position of your choice,

2. perinatal management-wanting a family birth or the presence of an attendant, here you can also indicate your opinion about the presence of students,

3. Preparation for childbirth-it is worth considering the following topics, among others. Performing enemas or using labor induction methods (such as puncturing the fetal bladder),

4. methods of relieving labor pain- pharmacological or non-pharmacological methods chosen by the mother-to-be,

5. the course of labor-ability to move, change positions, avoid perineal incisions, desire to eat and drink during labor,

6. the moment after birth-cutting the umbilical cord, skin-to-skin contact, the father kangarooing the baby,

7. Care of the newborn baby-feeding, bathing the baby or performing vaccinations.

It’s also a good idea to include in the birth plan information about your health, any experience of previous births and, if any, past complications or complications of labor. This will enable medical personnel to take even better care of both the woman giving birth and the newborn. It should also be remembered that there are situations when the birth plan is not respected. In the event of any complications in the hospital, it is the decisions of the doctors, who, to the best of their knowledge, care for the health and lives of patients, that have the final say. For this reason, in the birth plan, many women include a note about their desire to be informed about possible emergencies and additional management implemented by the medical staff.

Thanks to the fact that mothers-to-be prepare a birth plan, more and more often hospitals respect the decisions of women in labor, and the birth itself and the stay in the maternity ward is much less stressful than  was in the past.