Sara

LOL, that's ok! Remember it's still just a draft - I need to re-word and maybe add more to it

Before Labour:

No induction
No sweeps
No breaking waters

During Labour:

I want to be able to move about freely and eat/drink if I want to
No internals until I feel the urge to push
No pain relief (that INCLUDES pethidine & gas & air), I want to make sure that attendees don’t give in if I ask for pain relief – I’ll just be disappointed with myself later on!

During Birth:

I want to be able to choose which position I give birth in and discouraged from lying on my back
No episiotomy, although I’d like midwife to help stretch perineum and guide my pushing to minimise any tearing

During 3rd Stage/ After Birth:

Natural third stage – no syntocinon/syntometrine injection
DH to tell me baby’s sex
Cord not to be cut until it has STOPPED pulsing
DH to cut cord
Skin to skin contact straight away
I want to try feeding the baby immediately.
No bath please, want vernix to come away naturally
No formula to be given to my baby, I will pump in other circumstances
Vitamin K drops NOT injection
I'm undecided about whether I want to take placenta home yet, but I definitely want to see it.

(All this applies unless there is a (real) medical reason not to)

Jules

Linzi, i would double check with the hospital about your dad being there, as i am pretty sure (not 100%) that a friend of my mums said her daughter wanted her father there and he wasn't allowed..... i may be wrong, but worth double checking

PitBullMommy

Sounds like a good birth plan! My hospital doesn't really honor birth plans very well from what I've heard, but there aren't many around here =( I do NOT want drugs at ALL (I'm more scared of the drugs than the actual labor), course everyone laughs when I tell them that and says I'll change my mind as soon as the pain starts. It would be nice to have some support on that position instead of ridicule! I want my DH and Dad in the room with me. My Mom would drive me CRAZY if she was in there, my Dad can make me feel better when I hurt or feel sick and can calm me down and make me think more clearly than anyone (even though it drives DH nuts, lol), he of course is NOT allowed down the 'business end'..that's just weird. I do not want ANY of my inlaws anywhere even NEAR my room. They can't stand me (though they put on a good show about liking me when DH is around) and I can't stand them. If I even hear one of them or see one of them when I'm in labor, or even afterwards I WILL flip out. They can be in the hospital, they can go see the baby in the nursery...I don't want them in my room at all, under ANY circumstances. One of my friends has volunteered to stand guard and make sure they don't come near me.

Holldoll

My birth plan is a lot like Sara's. Minus the placenta and the bath part. I talked to the dr. on Monday about it all, because he is going to a group and I'm VERY upset about it. So I'm probably going to hire a doula and do a lot of my laboring at home. He said to not go to the hospital until I'm almost to the point of pushing, unless my water is gushing out, because then I'm more guaranteed a natural birth. The hospitals around here have a 80% epidural rate and I REALLY don't want one. Plus, at home I'll be much more comfortable with my own shower and tub and bed and food and everything else at home. If this weren't my first I would have a home birth. But I'm scared of not being near a hospital because A) I have no idea what to expect B) my heart, I don't know what will happen with me and it during labor.

Firsttimer

I want a natural birth well with nly gas and air if possible I really dont want epdurial I am terrified of needles and what can go wrong it went to my friends brain and had to stay in hospital for a week. I hope my birth is short some people are blessed when it comes to having a easy birth

Margerle

I've thought about it, and even toured the local birthing center where I'm going to have the baby. But I haven't made a birth plan yet. I suppose when I register etc. we'll go over all that.

I want a very natural birth. My first was induced, and I was preeclamptic so it was more a matter of getting that baby born than a birth experience. I was out of it for much of the birth.

I do not want a episiotomy. I had an epidural with #1 adn would like to try without.

I do want to be in the whirlpool if it feels comfortable. I do wish to walk around and eat and drink as I wish. The birthing suite has birthing balls and squatting bars and the nurses are trained for many different birth positions, so I will encourage them to help as I need it.

DH and DD and possibly my mother are the ones in the birthing room. DH will hopefully catch baby and cut the cord if all works out. Skin to skin contact imediately and breast feeding asap after birth.

This is a very good hospital and is very modern. I don't think I will need to be explicit on too many things, they are already prepared to do many of these things. I just hope I do not have a problem pregnancy where I miss out on many of these things again.

Linzi

Yeah i definately will, thanks. Never thought about it actually.

I know it sounds really weird.

Jules

Its all about what you want, doesn't matter what anyone else thinks, i have banned everyone from the hospital accept for OH!!!

Sara

Wow! You can tell the hospital who you don't want there and they will make sure of it.

Isn't it annoying when people tell what you want?!?!
Our bodies are made to give birth, they go through this whole change in 9 months to prepare and in the last stages stretch and shift bits n bobs to bring our babies into the world.
And then you have some busybody relative telling you that YOU won't be able to cope!
Please excuse the rant, it's one of my pet hates!

Pitbullmommy - don't you feel a bit strange having your baby carted off to a nursery? It's not normal practise here - baby stays with mama.

coccyx

Never say never!. I think its great to have some ideas but need to be flexible if things don't go as you hoped. Worse thing you can do is lie in bed. Need to keep mobile as long as you can. Helps to open up pelvis and gravity helps.