A birth plan can play a big part in what happens to a mother and her baby during childbirth. Allowing prenatal caregivers to know what her expectations are can help a mother to have a birth experience that is both relaxing and predicatable.
For a lot of first time mothers, labour is a new experience and there is comfort in labouring in a hospital with professionals around. Other mothers prefer to labour at home for personal comfort and peace. The choice is a personal decision every mother must make for herself.
Natural, Intervention-free or Doctor Knows Best?
A pregnant woman must decide what method of pain management she will choose. There are many options available, but every woman must decide what is right for her and her baby. There are epidurals, pain medication shots, TENS machines, spinals, or there is natural childbirth. The best option is whatever feels right for each woman and her family.
Many women feel they need to be induced when they go overdue. Other women feel that the baby will come when it is ready to experience the real world. This is another decision that parents need to think long and hard about. Some women are told they should be induced based on medical conditions, but every woman has the right to choose what she feels is right for her baby.
Sometimes a doctor will feel a cesarean is necessary. In a lot of situations it can help a baby, while in other times it is unnecessary and a mother can feel pushed into a decision she doesn't want. Mothers should think long and hard about how they feel in regards to cesarean sections. She should make sure her doctor or midwife knows exactly how she feels so everyone can do the best to ensure the mother gets the birth experience that she wants.
Labor Care and Handling the Baby after Birth
Childbirth is a very powerful experience, and many families want this experience captured forever on film or video. One mother may be shy and not want any pictures taken, while another mother may want plenty of pictures and videos to forever remember the event. Music during labour can be very soothing to some women, while other women grow easily annoyed by it. Whatever each mother chooses, she should be sure that her partner and doctor know her preference.
It is important to so many parents to get the immediate chance to bond with the new baby. During the early minutes, doctors and nurses can be quick to take baby away for clean up and assessment. Parents do have a say in what happens in the early minutes following birth. Mothers have the option in most situations to choose to hold baby before any clean up is done. This is a great opportunity for mothers to try to nurse the baby for the first time.
Building a Birth Plan
Creating a birth plan can vary so much depending on what the mother wants for herself and her baby and what she prefers to avoid. Parents should put a lot of thought into the place where labouring happens, the pain management for mom, the preference for induction versus natural birth, whether or not pictures or videos are needed, the idea of cesareans and also of how the baby will be handled immediately following birth.
There are other things parents may choose when creating a birth plan, so moms and dads should always do a lot of research before creating their birth plan. Most doctors or midwives will go over the variety of options with mom and help them decide what they want for their experience.
Sources:
Pregnancy Today website, Birth Plan (accessed June 10, 2010).
Baby Center, Writing a Birth Plan (accessed June 10, 2010).
Jayde M. Nichols - Jayde Nichols had a love of writing for many years before beginning to write articles online in 2010. Nichols writes articles for a number ...
Join the Conversation