Being a childbirth educator, I’m often asked…
“But do we *really* need a birth plan?!”
Yes. The answer is always 100% yes.
And not for the reasons that you might think.
When you hear the words “birth plan” you {likely} live in one of two camps…
1- Yes! That’s right! Plan that birth! You know what you need and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise! They best respect that birth plan or they don’t respect YOU!
or
2- Uhg! A birth plan. You’re one of thooooooose people. You know nobody cares about that right? You just sound like a crazy hippy! Just go have a baby in dolphin pond and drink your placenta smoothie!
This is why you need a birth plan. So you don’t end up in EITHER of these camps!
I like to tell my clients that birth planning is for YOU. It’s not for your doctor. It’s not for your mom. It’s. For. You.
Yes, your doctor can get a glimpse into your birth goals (which they should already know, being you care provider) and yes, your mom might be able to help a bit more based on how you’d like things to go, but a birth plan is for YOU and your partner to craft the best possible scenarios for your birth.
Scenarios?! As in plural?! Yes.
Birth is unpredictable. Birth takes it’s own path. Birth likes to provide, what I like to call, “detours”, to keep things spicy.
When we take the time to craft a birth plan, we take the time to mentally prepare for all the “what if’s” and “just in case’s” that birth can toss our way.
When we take the time to craft a birth plan, we are able to decide NOW what will happen THEN in any situation.
I work with my clients to craft, what the amazing Penny Simkin lovingly coined as, the “Win Win Birth Plan”.
-A plan that addresses your care team and acknowledges their very important role in your birth experience.
It doesn’t say to them “Leave me alone. I’m not taking the drugs!”
It says, “I’m SO glad you’re here to help me achieve my birth goals and assist me in my effort to a drug free delivery.”
-A plan that explores the possibility of a birth that might need intervention.
It says, “I want to birth my baby vaginally, but I understand that emergencies happen and if my family is in need of a cesarean delivery, we have a plan for that too.”
It says, “I want an epidural, but I understand that birth can move rapidly and I may not have time to get it, I have a plan for that too.”
-A plan that allows you and your partner to prepare and make decisions ahead of time so that if you’re faced with a major decision, there’s no panic and there’s no fear. You get to calmly say, “We already talked about that. Here’s what we’d like to do.”
So, really, truly, I encourage you…
Write that birth plan. Write the HECK out of that birth plan and feel confident in every detail of it. Because now, you’re ready for whatever birth might toss your way <3
