Birth Plans
Many women begin to think about their upcoming birth experience almost as soon as they learn that they are pregnant. There are many choices and options for women for labor and delivery and a bewildering amount of information available on every topic related to pregnancy and birth.
The Internet has become a resource that couples who are expecting often turn to for education and advice on labor and delivery. Although its extremely helpful to have so many resources for information, it’s important to keep in mind that the World Wide Web is just that—a web of information for the whole world. For a truly personal birth experience, a woman should communicate her wishes, expectations, hopes, fears, questions, and preferences to her partner and her physician.
Her physician, after completing a physical assessment and attaining a complete medical history, can discuss any unique health issues that may factor into decisions about labor and delivery. Also, each physician has his or her own procedural preferences, which should be clearly explained and understood by the patient.
Paul LaPoint, MD, St. Luke’s Hospital Ob/Gyn, finds that one of the most important roles a physician plays in labor and delivery is to be a good listener. His patients have used alternate methods of pain control ranging from controlled breathing techniques to hypnosis. Other patients want pain controlled with an epidural. Either choice is perfectly acceptable and supported. “The goal is always the same —healthy baby, healthy mom. How that goal is reached is different with each delivery, but understanding the wishes that mom has for delivery and having a supportive hospital staff is the basis of a positive birth experience.”
Not only is each patient unique; hospitals offer an array of options and services to patients and families. Each hospital has its own particular rules and procedures on laboring, the number of people allowed to be present during a birth, allowing the newborn to room in with mom, etc. It is important that you choose a hospital whose staff supports your preferences for labor and delivery.
After all of these factors are considered, a woman can start to put together her birth plan. “By around the start of the third trimester of pregnancy, we should have a clear picture of the overall health of mom and baby,” says LaPoint. “I usually recommend that patients start to make educated plans for their birth experience by the third trimester.”
The most critical aspect of a successful birth plan is for mom and her family to remain open to having to change the plan if circumstances during delivery change, and to be available to communicate openly and trust the physician and staff at her hospital. Flexibility to change course if necessary is essential to a successful birth. This is where the use of a Doula can be helpful. Doulas have been recognized for their nurturing and supportive contribution to mothers during labor and birth, resulting in improved physical outcomes and emotional well being of mothers and infants.
For each birth, many options are available to mom, depending on her physician’s support, such as freedom to move around the room, use of a birthing ball, the option to experience labor in a whirlpool tub, freedom to use a doula and to have more than one support person during the delivery, and more. Further, mom’s partner can stay with her in her private room throughout her stay, and baby can either room in too, or be cared for in the nursery so mom can get rest.