Birthing Plan

One of the most memorable moments of your entire life is the birth of your children and just like any other event, be that your wedding day , milestone birthday, christening or even funeral, you wish for everything to go as smoothly and as organised as possible.

In most cases everything works out as you planned it to but the one thing that is unpredictable is giving birth and no matter how much you plan for that big moment , there is always that chance that something may change or go the total opposite way to what you planned it to be like.

Making a birth plan helps you decide and communicate alongside your doctors and midwives on how to get the best out of your birthing experience , before, during and after .

There are many different options to consider when in labour and giving birth and having a birthing plan at hand is the easiest and most convenient for both mother and midwife.

We all have the perfect dream of how we would hope our experience of what labour and birth would be like. 
If only we could all just pop to the hospital in our break time , have a quick, pain free delivery and be sent on our way within minutes then I am sure we would all have a plan for it to be like that but fact of the matter is sometimes , ok most times, it takes a lot of time, pain relief , constant monitoring and waiting around, moaning , grunting and sometimes screaming for that moment to happen.

My First borns labour and birth was going smoothly , I had spent a few hours in labour in the comfort of the home from home care at my local hospital and we delivered her with no worry at all . That was up until I got our of the water to be transferred to the bed to dry of and I bled out . I ended up being separated from my baby instantly to be taken to a near by hospital where they could see to me and the bleeding. Luckily I was fine and baby was reunited within an hour and a half but the whole experience scared me and upset me . I did not want any separation from my daughter so soon after the birth but what happened was unpredictable and these things happen .

My last born however seemed to be the most easiest of them all. I seemed to spend my whole labour and birth laughing while high as a kite on Gas and air with my husband behind me in the pool being burned on the running hot water . It was fast and pretty much pain free and I could not have asked for it to be any easier to be honest.

For some strange reason , although I have had the experience before, I feel like this time around may just be a little different and although I am hoping for it to be easy like the last I thought it best to write a birthing plan to make it easier for the people who will be caring for me and baby to know exactly what my wishes are and what I do not want to happen unless absolutely necessary. 

My Birthing Plan-


Labour Companion - Husband
I want my husband there at all times and even in the pool with me during the delivery.
I am happy for students to be present at the birth but no intermittence is preferred .


Monitoring The baby's Heartbeat - Not unless absolute necessary
I do not wish for any electronic monitoring to occur unless absolute needed. 


Pain relief - Gas And Air
I wish to have only the least pain relief needed. Relaxation and breathing techniques along with using the birthing ball and free movement at first then moving to the birthing pool where gas and air will be used as the pain progresses. I want to deliver in the pool.
I am actually petrified of needles so no to epidurals as they are a huge fear for me.


Assistance / Induction / Slow Progress - None preferred
I would like not to be induced or have waters broken unless absolute necessary.
I also do not wish for assisted delivery and unless necessary I do not wish for a c-section.


Options for labour and delivery - 
I would like to have as least interference as possible , being able to move and walk freely . I would like baby to be delivered onto my stomach and have a picture taken of that moment, I would then like my husband to cut the cord.
Please try to give me the injection of syntocinon if available asap without me knowing to stop heavy bleeding after birth.


After delivery - 
I would like baby to be checked over and wrapped up and handed to his dad asap while I am being seen to . As soon as I have been checked and cleaned up , I wish for baby to be handed back to me skin to skin and try to allow bonding and breastfeeding to happen as soon as possible. Please give my baby Vitamin K .
As soon as me and baby are checked to be fit and well , I wish to go home as soon as possible.
In the unlikely event that I or baby need to be transferred to another hospital please keep separation of baby and I to a minimum.

Making a quick poster like above which can be printed of and placed in with your maternity notes to be easily seen is perfect .

Some people may prefer to add some quick notes on any complications or necessary information to their plan but by the time your all settled into the hospital and ready for that moment, the hospital already have all the information they need in your notes or on file.

I hope that my plan works out and with only 6 more weeks to go I still have more preparations to go through such as packing that hospital bag , Preparing my body for birth and of course all the little bits that still need to be bought for baby .

I understand that not all of the time , births go to plan and there may be some unpredictable actions needed but with the best interest for you and baby coming first sometimes we have to let them do what they know is best .

I will come back to let you know if it all went to plan.

What changes would you make to your plan, anything you would add ?