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Pregnancy is the waiting time for a baby, which should also be used to complete the birth plan. This will help you set the requirements for hospital staff and avoid disappointment. We advise you on how to develop an optimal birth plan.
Birth plan – is it necessary?
A birth plan is a document in which a pregnant woman writes down all her expectations for the birth and medical care right after it. In light of the applicable law, under the Standards of Perinatal Care, such a document should be written together with the attending physician or the midwife.
Is it worth writing down the birth plan at all? Yes, because thanks to this, the woman clearly specifies what she expects from the hospital staff, and in the event of failure to fulfill the obligation (after prior consultation about such a possibility), she can direct complaints to the director of the center or the Department of Mother and Child in the Ministry of Health. Unfortunately, sometimes it happens that the birth card and reality are two completely different issues.
The birth plan is a binding document which means it must be followed except in situations where there are medical contraindications or complications. Should it happen that, for some reason, the woman’s expectations cannot be met, the woman must be informed immediately (e.g. the doctor is required to state the reasons why an episiotomy is necessary, although the previous findings were different).
Be sure to read: Due date – calculate when you will be born. Childbirth and the date of delivery
What to write in the birth plan?
The birth plan should include information related to the next stages of labor, as well as issues related to perinatal care. It is therefore about:
- place and conditions of childbirth (single / multi-person room, room with shower and toilet, quiet atmosphere, the ability to listen to your own music, childbirth in your own clothes, possibility to take photos),
- presence of third parties – in the birth plan, you can indicate the will to give birth in the presence of a loved one or two, consent to the presence of students, restrict the staff to the necessary people,
- preparation for childbirth – consent or disagreement with the use of a cannula, enema or shaving the perineum,
- the course of childbirth – the delivery plan may include a request for current information about the birth, access to water and painkillers, limitation of vaginal tests or fully natural delivery,
- the first and the second stage of labor – the possibility of walking and using the shower, and in the second stage the possibility of adopting the chosen position and instinctive pace of pressure,
- issues of pain relief and perineal incision,
- consent to stimulate labor or caesarean section,
- postpartum activities – the birth plan may include information on cutting the umbilical cord, the first clothes put on the baby, the first breastfeeding or the assessment of the condition of the newborn according to the Apgar scale while holding the baby with you,
- stay in the maternity ward – the child’s stay in the same room, training on feeding (does the woman want advice from a lactation consultant), washing and changing, consent to the first vaccinations,
- important information about the mother’s health, i.e. a tendency to fainting, low blood clotting, diseases and ailments.
Worth knowing: Natural childbirth or Caesarean?
How to prepare a birth plan?
When preparing your birth plan, you should think about the options and facilities that a specific hospital offers. Requirements that are too high can lead to disappointment. It is certainly worth consulting a midwife or a gynecologist who is managing the pregnancy. They will also advise on the best solutions, both generally and individually, for the expectant mother.
It is most convenient to write down the birth plan step by step. First of all, however, it should be borne in mind that certain random events, and not necessarily errors or bad will of the staff, may affect a different course of delivery than the planned one.
Also read: Hospital bag – what to pack before delivery?
How to write a birth plan?
As for the very writing of such a plan, then it happens that hospitals offer ready-made birth plan templates. These templates are constructed in such a way that it is enough to mark the appropriate points in them (it is good to make sure in advance whether the given hospital where the woman is to give birth has such templates). However, nothing prevents you from preparing such a document yourself, using ready-made templates (there is no one official birth plan form) available on the Internet or writing it yourself.
When writing such a birth plan, it is worth having a person with her who will also be with her in the delivery room, because she can help to enforce it later. It is also good to consult your midwife or doctor before writing the document. The birth plan itself can be written in the form of a letter addressed to healthcare professionals. It should then contain a short introduction and all the most important information. It can be written in the form of calculations or descriptive, but you should remember not to be too long, because what counts is quality, not quantity.
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