My Birth Plan

My Birth Plan - Waterbirth and Hypnobirthing, a natural choice

My Birth Plan – a complicated, personal subject. Possibly even a pointless subject – Can you really predict the birth you are going to have? Everyone keeps telling me that birth plans go out of the window and not to bother – but my logic is, if you don’t have an idea of what you want – how can you know what your options are? I think there is a fine balance between the two. In my mind – knowledge is power. So, in the last couple of weeks as I’m now 35 weeks pregnant (EEK!), I have thought a LOT about my birth plan. In fact since we have done our NCT classes and started a Hypnobirthing course it’s actually done a whole 360 just in the last two weeks, it’s never too late to change your mind! 🙂

“I just want a healthy baby and to cope – that is all.”

So, today I thought I’d share my views on my birth plan so I can look back on this post after the birth of Baby Peaches and see if things went to plan or not. One of the main things I’ll say is that I’m REALLY flexible with it all and I’m not going to be disappointed, whatever the outcome – from natural birth to C-section, I’ve thought about it all, read about it all and I’m ready for whatever birth throws at me. The bottom line is –  I just want a healthy baby and to cope – that is all. 

My Birth Plan - Waterbirth and Hypnobirthing, a natural choice

 

 

“Until two weeks ago – I had visions of birth being very clinical – I wanted to ask for an epidural at the first available moment”

Until a couple of weeks ago – I had visions of birth as being very clinical – I wanted to ask for an epidural at the first available moment. I had no interest in ‘seeing how far I could get’ and just wanted all the DRUGS, give me ALL the medication and get this over with! Thinking about birth like this was making me more an more anxious as the time went by – apart from my IVF treatment, I’ve never been inside a hospital – apart from a few quick routine appointments, I’ve certainly never stayed overnight or been on my own in a ward. The thought was terrifying and as my bump grew I started to get more and more anxious as the big day approached.

I became obsessed with reading about births, listening to birth podcasts (these are fab!) and watching birth vlogs on Youtube. It’s crazy, when you actually listen to stories, you realise all the things you see on ‘One Born Every Minute’ is just dramatised rubbish, they really do hone in on the dramatic side, people screaming in pain  – this is the image that is shoved down our throats by the media, so there is NO WONDER we all feel terrified of birth!

“If I picture a relaxing scene, it always includes water, whether it’s a beach, a jacuzzi or a tranquil lake, there is water, so why wouldn’t I want this in my birthing room too?”

So, my plan now, basically the natural way – Hypnobirthing and use of the water pool. If I’m ever feeling stressed, tired or in pain, my favourite place to be is in the bath. If I picture a relaxing scene, it always includes water, whether it’s a beach, a jacuzzi or a tranquil lake, there is water, so why wouldn’t I want this in my birthing room too?

Here it is, my birth plan:
Where I plan to give birth: Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton. I umm-ed and aaah-ed about this for a long time, the hospital has quite a bad rep, if you’ve ever been to the A&E there you’d be scarred for life – but I think the maternity ward is one of the better parts – with seaviews in every labour room and beautiful waterbirthing facilities – I’ve been swayed this is the right choice. I even found out they have an aromatherapy service to make relaxing blends for massages and calming.  This is if I get there in time though, I’ve had a recurrent dream I give birth on my bathroom floor at home (on my own)  – could be a premonition too. Eek.
Type of Birth: Waterbirth, I want to try and stay in the water for as long as possible, my dream would be to actually give birth in the water, but we shall see how that pans out! I would also like the room to be as dark as possible (hoping for a night labour… or decent blinds!) with coloured LED coloured lights for distraction (Oh hello battery powered tealights!). I want to try and stay active and move around as much as I can, use my hypnobirthing techniques and calming music. I’m bringing some little extras with me for support – photos of Robbie (he would be there if he was allowed), rose quartz crystal (calming) and some of the baby things I’ve crocheted, to keep my mind on the reason I’m doing this! I totally understand all of this sounds terribly hippy, I’m not even like that, but I just want to try ANYTHING that helps to calm me, there is no harm in trying, right?

Pain Relief Options: As I want to use the water pool, you aren’t allowed anything other than Gas & Air. I’m not sure how I feel about Gas & Air, I’ve heard you either love it or hate it, I’ve also heard it can make you quite sick, so I am going to try and it and see if it’s for me – who knows! When it comes to other pain relief, I’m totally open and will NOT feel disappointed if I need to use anything else, or if I ask for an epidural. If thats what I feel I need, I’ll ask for it, I won’t beat myself up. The only thing I’ve got down as a big no no  is pethidine as I’ve heard it can affect the baby, so I’ll accept anything that affects me – but nothing that will interfere with babies natural rhythms.

Interventions: I am totally open to interventions. I am in a hospital, therefore guided by the medical professionals. This is the first time I’ve given birth, so I will trust that they know best and will go with whatever intervention they suggest, even if it’s a c-section. I just want to do the best for my baby, I don’t want to fight for a natural-all-the-way birth, just because.

After Birth: I would like to delay cord clamping until it stops pulsating, have skin to skin with our baby. I can’t wait for this moment!  I then hope we can try breastfeeding to speed up the 3rd stage of labour, but I wouldn’t be against having the jab to get things moving with the placenta at this point as I just want to concentrate on the baby!

My Birth Plan - Waterbirth and Hypnobirthing, a natural choiceRight, well, thats my wishes but I TOTALLY understand things could be very, very different. The only way to know is to see how things pan out. I’ll be writing my birth story after everything has happened, so let’s see how they compare!

What was your birth plan and how did it compare to the actual day? I’d love to hear your stories! (I LOVE birth stories!) 

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  • Yours sounds like a wonderful birth plan!
    I knew I had to be in the hospital for my birthing experience rather than a midwife led retreat, as I had special requirements due to previous surgeries, which meant I could not have an epidural but would need doctors on hand in case things turned serious. I also knew I wanted my husband to cut the cord but other than that I was open to whatever else happened.
    I didn’t do much research into the process (other than the stages of labour) as I wanted things to be a surprise 🙂

    But when the time came it ended up that I had to go to hospital in an ambulance and baby was born in 40 minutes with his cord wrapped round his neck, so my husband couldn’t cut the cord :'( I have to say though, that even though things moved quicker than expected, I still really enjoyed the experience and the midwives were so helpful and comforting and they talked me through everything that was happening/ they were doing so I could feel more in control and comfortable! You will love it!

    Good luck with your birth, it is such an amazing experience and that first cuddle and kiss is a feeling that nothing can compare to! Looking forward to your update!

  • I have to say, the whole thought of giving birth is actually terrifying me right now. When the midwife asked me where I’d like to have the baby at my booking in appointment, the first thing I said was “where ever I can have the most pain relief and there are the most doctors just in case something goes wrong.” Since then though, I too have been leaning more towards a water birth. The first thign I do if I am ever stressed or poorly is run a bath – it’s my calm place, so I really hope that it is possible to get in the pool when baby is on her way.
    Of course, if it isn’t, as long as she arrives safely and is healthy then in the end that is all that matters. xx x