Keep it short.
Doctors and nurses are busy and do not have time to read an entire page (or two) of your natural birth plan preferences. Keep in mind that most likely things will go in an unpredictable manner so look at this list as your “list of preferences”. Get a doula. GET A DOULA! I cannot stress that enough. It does not matter what kind of birth you are planning to do, natural or epidural as soon as you get into that room… A doula is your advocate that knows your birth plan and is there for you. The WHOLE time. Doctors, nurses and midwives are barely there. A doctor often comes in when you are already pushing. Nurses and midwifes check on you every 30 minutes and the rest of the time you are on your own. Your husband and other supportive family members may or may not be as comforting as you expect. Often times it is difficult for them to watch you in pain and they may panic. A Douala will bring piece, and an organized atmosphere.
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Here is my natural birth plan for reference.
- No medical/chemical interventions unless life threatening or approved by me.
- Prefer no IV.
- Wireless baby monitor only if necessary. No internal fetal monitoring please.
- Minimum vaginal exams – no students please.
- No urinary catheter even if epidural is administered.
- No episiotomy unless risk of urethral or clitoral tear.
- No stripping of membranes (manual breaking of water).
- If Cesarean, I would like to be fully conscious and father and doula to be present. Double-layer stitching only; please no single-layer stitching.
- If Cesarean, place sterile gauze in my vagina preferably at least 1 hour before the birth and swipe baby’s mouth, face and skin with that gauze when baby is born.
- If Cesarean is emergency, place gauze in my vagina as soon and for as long as possible and swipe baby’s mouth, face and skin within 2 minutes of birth.
- Deliver placenta unassisted.
- Please save placenta, I would like to encapsulate it.
- NO Pitocin after birth.
Baby
- Delayed Cord Clamping – please have Father cut cord after it stops pulsating.
- Immediate skin to skin contact with baby.
- Father to accompany baby if he/she needs to leave the room for any reason.
- No eye ointment.
- Oral Vitamin K. NO injections please.
- No Hep B.
- Any baby evaluation to be approved/done while I hold the baby.
- Room-in at all times – no nursery time.
- No First bath.
- No circumcision (if applies).
Lets elaborate:
Prefer no IV. – They will usually insist on installing the peripheral venous catheter and not hook you up to anything so you can move around freely. That is fine, being hooked up to an IV will leave you in bed and not able to walk around. Physical activity speeds things up, so move around, take a stroll…
Wireless baby monitor only if necessary. No internal fetal monitoring please. – No monitor is best. And I really do not love the ‘wireless’ part but it is better than “A tiny electrode is inserted through your vagina onto your baby’s scalp and a catheter is placed in your uterus or an external pressure gauge is strapped to your abdomen to measure the strength of your contractions.” (source) Radiofrequency (wireless) EMF is dangerous as it is, read my post on it here, and especially near/on a newborn’s head.
Minimum vaginal exams – no students please. – Vaginal exams are really not necessary. Your experienced doula will tell you when you are approaching second stage of labor. Frequent exams increase a risk of introducing unneeded pathogenic bacteria into your vagina.
No (urinary) catheter even if epidural is administered. – When I was in labor with my son (with epidural) and with my daughter (no epidural) I was not offered a catheter. I did need to urinate for them to make sure I am OK after labor. They bring a bed pan and it takes a bit of concentration and silence but it is doable.
No episiotomy unless risk of urethral or clitoral tear. – Self-explanatory… Instead ask for a perineum massage during labor to avoid tearing.
No stripping of membranes (manual breaking of water). – There is absolutely no reason for this at all. Babies are born in amniotic sacs all the time.
If Cesarean, I would like to be fully conscious and father to be present. Double-layer stitching only; please no single-layer stitching. – “A recent
evaluation in Montreal covering 1990-2000 found a five-fold increase in uterine rupture associated with single-layer versus the traditional double-layer method. … Single-layer suturing could have a particularly large impact on the rate of uterine rupture among those women induced or give augmentation during labor.” (read more here)
- If Cesarean, place sterile gauze in my vagina preferably at least 1 hour before the birth and swipe baby’s mouth, face and skin with that gauze when baby is born.
- If Cesarean is emergency, place gauze in my vagina as soon and for as long as possible and swipe baby’s mouth, face and skin within 2 minutes of birth.
- – These two are certainly ‘different’, but please consider being ‘different’. Read this article, but to summarize… “Previous research has shown a correlation (though not causation) between people who were born via C-section and an increased risk of obesity, asthma, allergies and autism. One reason might be is that babies who are born via C-section do not pass through the mother’s birth canal and do not get exposed to the healthy microbes living there” … “In the new work, Knight and his colleagues found that the microbiome of infants birthed vaginally were enriched with Lactobacillus and Bacteroides, two species of bacteria that are abundant in the maternal vagina and have been shown to teach an infant’s immune system how to recognize and not attack other species of helpful bacteria.” … “After sequencing the DNA of the different communities of microbes found on and in the babies, the researchers found that the microbiota of C-section babies swiped with vaginal fluid were more similar to vaginally birthed infants than to those who were delivered by C-section and not swiped.”
Deliver placenta unassisted. – It really should not be ‘yanked’ out as it often is. It needs time to separate and be ‘birthed’.
Please save placenta, I would like to encapsulate it. – I chose to encapsulate but ended up not taking it. I am still on the fence. Some swear by it, some don’t. I had an oversupply of breastmilk and I read it really boosts your supply. In addition, a personal note – placenta is a ‘cleaning’ organ, so in theory (mine), it may contain the toxins it did not allow to get to the baby..? I don’t know. But many, many women report very positive changes when they take their encapsulated placenta pills.
NO Pitocin after birth. – Apparently this is standard practice and is done without asking you, the mother, the patient. There is IV Pitocin and there is a similar drug in pill format. The pill or pills are put into your rectum (yes your butt even though you just pushed a human out). I have not done much research but it seemed the pills were a better alternative.
*A note – if you plan on having an unmediated child birth (no epidural), in case of emergency C section you will need to go under full anesthesia. If they do put in a catheter in your spine and do not use epidural, in case of an emergency C section, you will be under partial anesthesia. Personally I would still opt for no catheter in the spine.
Baby
Delayed Cord Clamping. – please have Father cut cord after it stops pulsating. – This takes a couple of minutes.
Immediate skin to skin contact with baby. – Ask for baby to be put on your chest. If you cannot due to Cesarean, let father hold baby skin to skin.
Father to accompany baby if she needs to leave the room for any reason. – Room in with your baby. No need for the nursery or your child to leave your room for any reason. And when they take him/her for a hearing test or the like, have dad follow. And ask for them to do the test in a place where dad can see everything.
No eye ointment. – unless you have an STD.
Oral Vitamin K. NO injections please. – here are the details, brands and doses; according to published research, oral dose is not only just as effective, but is more effective for late onset VRKB.
No Hep B. – many many articles on this. Including this one from PubMed
Any baby evaluation to be approved/done while I hold the baby. – or at least in a full unobstructed view.
Room-in at all times – no nursery time.
No First bath. – that white stuff, vernix, is so good for your baby. It acts as a shield and protects your baby from all kinds of bacteria. In fact, rub it in! You’ll give your baby first bath when you get home. A bath using gentle, non toxic soap, not the junk they use in hospitals.
No circumcision (if applies). – I realize it is a very personal decision. Get your facts straight and make an informed decision. Remember, it cannot be undone so do the research prior.
Miscellaneous notes
Request a room with tub or a shower. Laboring in water can take the edge off the contractions pain.
Move, move, move. Take a walk, or change positions often.
Take advantage of gravity, sit, stand, squat etc… When my labor was stalling, I was advised to get on my hands and knees (kind of like a dog/cat); it made me go from 2cm to 6cm within 30 min.
When baby is born, ask for at least one hour to be left undisturbed so you may bond with your baby and your partner.
Encourage breastfeeding, try to get the baby to latch or ask doula/nurse to help.
Look into EMF Mitigation of your home, we followed the scope of the project when we hired new construction builders when we built our house, read the complete emf mitigation guide, here.
Schedule an appointment with a good lactation consultant. Sometimes it takes a few to get good advice. First lactation consultant to see us did not even look in my daughters mouth. Breastfeeding was excruciatingly painful. This was my second child after all, I knew what I was doing yet it was so painful. We got lucky and at the next shift another lactation consultant checked for tongue and lip ties. My daughter had both. Join a breastfeeding support group, see several professionals…
Vaccines…
SO much conflicting information out there. To be truly confident in your decision, consider reading this book. Do not blindly do what your doctor told you. Sometimes they just do not know. My firstborn suffered a vaccine injury because I did not know the risks. Unfortunately most begin their research once they experience an injury… To make a truly informed decision, please, read the Dissolving Illusions book. If you decide to proceed with vaccination, at least you have made an educated decision.
On a lighter note, I read SO many pregnancy and childcare books. They are all very similar, however this one is really an eye opener and is certainly ‘different’. It is worth a read.
And this one is a keeper too. The breathing exercises definitely took the edge off during labor contractions.
My number one advice stands. Get a doula. And prepare to enjoy your labor and birth of your child. No matter what it will be like. It is the most beautiful, empowering event I ever had the honor of experiencing.
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