A Birth plan is a record of your preferences about what you might like to happen during labour and birth. It's a good idea to be thinking about what you would prefer or would like to consider during your labour and after the birth of your baby and discuss these with your partner.
Discussing a birth plan with your Midwife will give you the chance to ask questions and find out more about what happens during labour. Your birth plan is personal to you. It will depend not only on what you want, but also on your medical history and your individual circumstances.
Your Midwife will discuss your birth plan with you at around 34-36 weeks of pregnancy. It’s a good idea for you to think about your birth preferences before these appointments.
Some of the things to consider are
- Your preference for place of birth (Home, Seacombe Birth Centre, Eden Suite alongside midwife led unit at the hospital, Delivery Suite at the hospital)
- Who you would like to accompany you in labour and birth
- If you are happy to have students involved in your care
- Your preferences for managing with labour including use of water, massage, hypnotherapy, gas and air and other types of stronger pain relief such as an epidural
- Other preferences such as positions for labour, the type of monitoring you might have for you and the baby, bringing in music
- delivering the placenta
- If you or your partner would like to cut the cord
- If you would like to have skin-to-skin with your baby immediately after birth and delayed cord clamping
- How you plan to feed your baby
- Vitamin K for baby
- Any other individual requirements that may be personal to you
For more details about Birth Plans and things to consider please see the links below: