The trend of advanced birth planning is catching on with many pregnant women and you may want to consider it too if you are expecting a baby anytime soon. Given how important the birth of your baby is, you want to ensure that everything will go well and that the day will be as stress-free as possible. You can make as detailed a birth plan guide as you want and share it with your family and your doctor. It can help them make prior arrangements to meet your preferences and expectations.

What is a birth plan guide?

A birth plan guide is an instruction template about your labor, delivery, and postpartum requirements. You can write your full name at the top so that the doctor will realize that it is from you. List your requirements understand, briefly or in detail as per your preference. Give it to the doctor a few days before your delivery so that they will have time to go through it and make any necessary arrangements.

How do you create a good birth plan?

You can create a good birth plan guide if you consider the following:

Availability of resources

When creating a birth plan, it is essential to consider the resources available at the hospital or birthing facility that you have selected. Find out if they can accommodate your requirements. For instance, if they do not already have the hydrotherapy birthing tub you want, can they arrange to get it for you?

Allowance of visitors

You also want to consider if they are willing to allow your husband, partner, family member, or friend to accompany you in the birthing room during your labor and in your hospital room afterward. Some birthing centers have strict visitation policies for male visitors, so it is best to ask beforehand.

Selecting the right ambiance

If you think that a certain type of ambiance can make you feel more at ease in the birthing room, it is advisable to ask about that beforehand too. Some hospitals or birthing facilities may let you choose to have dim lights, bright lights, or music playing in the background. They may also let you select the temperature you want in the birthing room.

Choosing labor preferences

It may help to research the different ways of giving birth before your big day. Aside from the conventional birthing way, you can choose to walk about, sit on a birthing ball, use a hydrotherapy tub, or stand under a warm shower. Just discuss it first with the doctor and make sure it is a safe choice for you and your baby.

Deciding on pain management

Since delivering a baby can be a painful process, it is best if you discuss the pain management procedure beforehand with your doctor. You can decide if you want to manage your pain with breathing exercises, meditation, massage, or hot and cold therapy. If you think you might need something more, ask the doctor about a safe epidural or narcotics.

Determining delivery preferences

In your birth plan guide, you can state your specific preferences for the delivery. For instance, you might want someone to video record the birth or have a mirror at hand to watch the birth yourself. You might want your husband, partner, family member, or friend to cut the newborn’s umbilical cord. You may want to hold your baby immediately after his or her birth. You may also want to wash the baby, breastfeed him or her, and have the doctor do the baby examination in your presence. Additionally, you may want someone to stay with you overnight afterward.

Your birth plan guide should also contain the measures you want the doctor to take in case of an emergency. For instance, if you require assisted labor, a cesarean procedure, or other pain management options. You can also inform the doctor if you want to collect the cord blood and tissue from your newborn’s umbilical cord and have made arrangements with a private or public cord blood bank. The doctor will use the provided kit to collect the cord blood and hand it to the representative from the blood bank to take away for storage to safeguard your child’s future.