Q: Birth plan?
Posted
Friday, March 30, 2007 4:12 PM
Q: What should I include in my birth plan?
A:
Start with this (ridiculously) comprehensive guide, which covers just
about every aspect of childbirth. Feel free to cut out whatever doesn't
apply!
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[ ] Full name:
[ ] Partner’s name:
[ ] Today’s date:
[ ] Due date: OR Induction
date:
[ ] Doctor’s name:
[ ] Hospital name:
Please note that I:
[ ] Have group B strep
[ ] Am Rh incompatibility with
baby
[ ] Have gestational diabetes
My delivery is planned as:
[ ] Vaginal
[ ] C-section
[ ] Water birth
[ ] VBAC
I’d like…:
[ ] Partner:
[ ] Parents:
[ ] Other children:
[ ] Doula:
[ ] Other:
…present before AND/OR during labor
During labor, I’d like:
[ ] Music played (I will
provide)
[ ] The lights dimmed
[ ] The room as quiet as
possible
[ ] As few interruptions as
possible
[ ] As few vaginal exams as
possible
[ ] Hospital staff limited to
my own doctor and nurses (no students, residents or interns present)
[ ] To wear my own clothes
[ ] To wear my contact lens
the entire time
[ ] My partner to film AND/OR
take pictures
[ ] My partner to be present
the entire time
[ ] To stay hydrated with
clear liquids and ice chips
[ ] To eat and drink as
approved by my doctor
I’d like to spend the first stage of labor:
[ ] Standing up
[ ] Lying down
[ ] Walking around
[ ] In the shower
[ ] In the bathtub
I'm not interested in
[ ] An enema
[ ] Shaving of my pubic area
[ ] A urinary catheter
[ ] An IV, unless I’m
dehydrated (and a heparin or saline lock IS/IS NOT ok)
I’d like fetal monitoring to be:
[ ] Continuous
[ ] Intermittent
[ ] Internal
[ ] External
[ ] Performed only by Doppler
[ ] Performed only if the baby
is in distress
I’d like labor augmentation:
[ ] Performed only if baby is
in distress
[ ] First attempted by natural
methods such as nipple stimulation
[ ] Performed by membrane
stripping
[ ] Performed with
prostaglandin gel
[ ] Performed with Pitocin
[ ] Performed by stripping of
the membrane
[ ] Never to include an
artificial rupture of the membrane
For pain relief, I’d like to use:
[ ] Acupressure
[ ] Acupuncture
[ ] Breathing techniques
[ ] Cold therapy
[ ] Demerol
[ ] Distraction
[ ] Hot therapy
[ ] Hypnosis
[ ] Massage
[ ] Meditation
[ ] Reflexology
[ ] Standard epidural
[ ] TENS
[ ] Walking epidural
[ ] Nothing
[ ] Only what I request at the
time
[ ] Whatever is suggested at
the time
During delivery, I would like to:
[ ] Squat
[ ] Semi-reline
[ ] Lie on my side
[ ] Be on my hands and knees
[ ] Stand
[ ] Lean on my partner
[ ] Use people for leg support
[ ] Use foot pedals for
support
[ ] Use a birth bar for
support
[ ] Use a birthing stool
[ ] Be in a birthing tub
[ ] Be in the shower
I will bring a:
[ ] Birthing stool
[ ] Birthing chair
[ ] Squatting bar
[ ] Birthing tub
As the baby is delivered, I would like to:
[ ] Push spontaneously
[ ] Push as directed
[ ] Push without time limits,
as long as the baby and I are not at risk
[ ] Use a mirror to see the
baby crown
[ ] Touch the head as it
crowns
[ ] Let the epidural wear off
while pushing
[ ] Have a full dose of
epidural
[ ] Avoid forceps usage
[ ] Avoid vacuum extraction
[ ] Use whatever methods my
doctor deems necessary
[ ] Help catch the baby
[ ] Let my partner catch the
baby
[ ] Let my partner suction the
baby
I would like
an episiotomy:
[ ] Used only after perineal
massage, warm compresses and positioning
[ ] Rather than risk a tear
[ ] Not performed, even if it
means risking a tear
[ ] Performed only as a last
resort
[ ] Performed as my doctor
deems necessary
[ ] Performed with local
anesthesia
[ ] Performed by pressure,
without local anesthesia
[ ] Followed by local
anesthesia for the repair
Immediately after delivery, I would like:
[ ] My partner to cut the umbilical
cord
[ ] The umbilical cord to be
cut only after it stops pulsating
[ ] To bank the cord blood
[ ] To donate the cord blood
[ ] To deliver the placenta
spontaneously and without assistance
[ ] To see the placenta before
it is discarded
[ ] Not to be given Pitocin/oxytocin
If a C-section is necessary, I would like:
[ ] A second opinion
[ ] To make sure all other
options have been exhausted
[ ] To stay conscious
[ ] My partner to remain with
my the entire time
[ ] The screen lowered so I
can watch baby come out
[ ] My hands left free so I
can touch the baby
[ ] The surgery explained as
it happens
[ ] An epidural for anesthesia
[ ] My partner to hold the
baby as soon as possible
[ ] To breastfeed in the
recovery room
I would like to hold baby:
[ ] Immediately after delivery
[ ] After suctioning
[ ] After weighing
[ ] After being wiped clean
and swaddled
[ ] Before eye drops/ointment
are given
I would like to breastfeed:
[ ] As soon as possible after
delivery
[ ] Before eye drops/ointment
are given
[ ] Later
[ ] Never
I’d like my family members(NAMES):
[ ] To join me and baby
immediately after delivery
[ ] To join me and baby in the
room later
[ ] Only to see baby in the
nursery
[ ] To have unlimited visiting
after birth
I’d like baby’s medical exam and procedures:
[ ] Given in my presence
[ ] Given only after we’ve
bonded
[ ] Given in my partner’s
presence
[ ] To include a heel stick
for screening tests beyond the PKU
[ ] To include a hearing
screening test
[ ] To include a hepatitis B
vaccine
Please don’t give baby:
[ ] Vitamin K
[ ] Antibiotic eye treatment
[ ] Sugar water
[ ] Formula
[ ] A pacifier
I’d like baby’s first bath given:
[ ] In my presence
[ ] In my partner’s presence
[ ] By me
[ ] By my partner
I’d like to feed baby:
[ ] Only with breastmilk
[ ] Only with formula
[ ] On demand
[ ] On schedule
[ ] With the help of a
lactation specialist
I’d like baby to stay in my room:
[ ] All the time
[ ] During the day
[ ] Only when I’m awake
[ ] Only for feeding
[ ] Only when I request
I’d like my partner:
[ ] To have unlimited visiting
[ ] To sleep in my room
If we have a boy, circumcision should:
[ ] Be performed
[ ] Not be performed
[ ] Be performed later
[ ] Be performed with
anesthesia
[ ] Be performed in the
presence of me AND/OR my partner
As needed post-delivery, please give me:
[ ] Extra-strength
acetaminophen
[ ] Percoset
[ ] Stool softener
[ ] Laxative
After birth, I’d like to stay in the hospital:
[ ] As long as possible
[ ] As briefly as possible
If baby is not well, I’d like
[ ] My partner and I to
accompany it to the NICU or another facility
[ ] To breastfeed or provide
pumped breastmilk
[ ] To hold him or her whenever
possible
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