What did you include in your birth plan?

[Groovychick675]

I'm interested to know what you included in your birth plan and whether your plan was treated with respect and how much you managed to follow your plan on the day?

[Seb9]

I think I kept mine very open, I was having an induction so quite a few options were removed.

I requested gas and air and an epidural, and had all these.

I didn't even need to ask for delayed cord cutting as this was standard in my hospital and we were doing skin to skin immediately after birth so that was perfect for me.

My wishes were all respected and I got on very well with all the midwives that took care of me.

I think if you're confident about what you want but are willing to adapt to the situation then your birth plan becomes quite a fluid document.

[Groovychick675 in reply to Seb9]

Thank you for this, so informative How was the epidural, I am in two minds about having one?

[Seb9 in reply to Groovychick675]

My midwife recommended if my induction went to the hormone drip that the contractions could come on quite quickly and painfully, they did come on quickly once I had the drip inserted and the were all over the place I just wasn't getting a break.

The epidural was marvellous, getting into position was probably the tricky bit with the drips attached and monitors, to sit on the edge of the bed and keep still.

The anaesthetist talked me through everything very well so I knew what was happening at each step.

They put the needle in and then left a catheter in so I could be topped up without having to have another injection.

When they injected the medication it was a bit tingly like a tiny electric shock, but the anaesthetist had said this might happen so I was prepared for it and wasn't surprised by it.

Once it was in the relief was immediate, she sprayed my belly and leg with cold spray to check that it had worked, you could feel the spray hit you but you couldn't feel that it's cold. Very strange sensation.

I was then able to relax and even have a sleep until the contractions were coming regularly and I'd dilated enough to push.

I had one top up during the day but by the time it came to push it had worn off quite a bit so I was able to feel the contractions, which was fine because it was useful regular pain then rather than when I wasn't dilated.

I think knowing I was having the induction and that an epidural might be needed I was fine with that.

I only had a minor tear and a graze and was able to walk fine a hour or so afterwards. The first hour or so was just cuddling baby skin to skin and nursing so I was in no rush to get up.

If I'd gone into natural labour I think I would have definitely tried to not have the epidural and just had gas and air, but I found the epidural the best thing for my situation.

I did an NCT course and we went through birth plans and how we'd like our births and what we might encounter and how we might need to adapt them which I found really helpful and made me confident in my choices.

Best of luck x

[Groovychick675 in reply to Seb9]

Thank you so much for sharing your experience with me. It has given me a huge insight to what having an epidural might be like and means I won’t be too worried about the idea if it happens. 😊

[Hidden]

I can't recommend The Positive birth company highly enough. It is a virtual Hypnobirthing course and it is £40.

You learn about birth and labour in an accessible way via digestible videos, which you can watch as much as you want.

Having been really well informed and equipped with fantastic tools to manage pain in labour I went on to use the PBC Birth preferences template.

I had an entirely unmedicated Homebirth in January. My labour lasted 40 hours from the first recorded contraction, I did it with the tools I had learned, gas and air, a birthing pool and Tens machine. I would do it again without question.

Being informed of the options and choices you will have will give you empowerment during your labour and baby's birth. My midwives were fantastic and very respectful of my wishes.

First you need to educate yourself about your choices, then writing your preferences will be easy! (Especially if you edit the template from PBC luke it did!)

Enjoy the rest of your Pregnancy, get all the rest you can and still k up the freezer with home cooked food now!

[Groovychick675 in reply to Hidden]

Thank you so much, will look into this 😊