For Making Your Way Towards the Best Childbirth for YouWhat Are Birth Plans?

A birth plan is an outline of an expecting mother's childbirth and her time in the hospital afterwards, created as her and her family consult with each other and consider their preferences.
By creating a birth plan, you can choose your preferred method of giving birth and maternity hospital.
There are various approaches, such as focusing on your preferences and selecting the place to give birth which matches them the best, or consulting with your chosen maternity hospital about what methods of birth are possible there.
When creating a birth plan, it is very important and meaningful to listen to experiences from those who have given birth before, and to read books about and study about childbirth.
Birth plans are very useful for expressing your thoughts and hopes for your childbirth to your medical organization while you are in the hospital, helping you have the best childbirth for you; one that truly matches who you are as a person. By creating a birth plan, you can prepare your feelings for your upcoming delivery, and it can help you to approach your childbirth calm and prepared for it.

By sharing your preferences with your chosen maternity hospital through your birth plan, you can talk to and exchange information with your doctors and midwives in a convenient way. In some cases, maternity hospitals which accept birth plans may have their own specific forms for them. By using a birth plan, you can avoid "I never heard that you had wanted that" situations from the maternity hospital once your childbirth begins.
Also, by writing a birth plan, you can develop a mental image of a childbirth that matches you and your personal wishes, helping you get one step closer to a delivery that fulfills them.
However, depending on the systems and facilities available at your maternity hospital, as well as the situation at the time of birth, some of the desires you express in your plan might be difficult to achieve.
For example, a mother hoping for an anesthetized childbirth may find that some maternity hospitals do not perform them.
Please gather plenty of information and confer thoroughly with your husband as you make your decisions.

How Do you Want to Experience Your Precious Once-in-a-lifetime Moment?How to Write a Birth Plan

You can write any kind of preferences you like in a birth plan.
By showing it to your maternity hospital, your doctor can then act in accordance with what you've written.
Many maternity hospitals have their own specific forms for birth plans, so please fill out those documents according to the instructions of each section.
Freely describe your feelings using statements such as these examples:

• ○ I want to have a natural birth, so I would prefer a vaginal delivery.
• ○ I want my husband to be present when I give birth.
• ○ I'm interested in having a water birth.

You can learn how to fill out documentation like this by participating in a childbirth education class, which normally will cover the subject. Many other forms and topics will be taught as well, so childbirth education classes are a valuable learning tool.
Be sure to thoroughly discuss what you want to make sure of, what you're worried about, and what your preferences are and aren't with your husband as you write, and listen to his thoughts and feelings as well.
This process is extremely important. By discussing your birth plan, you can express to your husband what you're hoping of from him, and learn from him which of those desires he is willing to fulfill, and in the process it will become a great opportunity for you to elevate your mindset towards your childbirth together as a couple. As a chance for him to consider the childbirth on a personal level, it will help him ready himself for it mentally, which he might express through wanting to take childhood education classes himself, for example.
Generally, a birth plan will cover the following subjects:

〇 Preference for method of birth There are many different styles of childbirth, such as natural, planned, and anesthetized. The first thing you should do is to learn about the different varieties of childbirth and consider which method you'd prefer. Some maternity hospitals might not perform anesthetized childbirth or births in alternative positions, so it's necessary to do research before you decide on a maternity hospital.

〇 Plans for going through labor pains Once contractions begin, your feelings will be focused on your pain, so you may have difficulty expressing your wants and needs. Because of this it may be wise to write a plan for what you would like during labor pains in advance. People you want to be with you, music or aromas you'd like prepared to help you relax, and preferences you wish to express to your midwife are good examples of things to describe.
Other examples include wanting massages or help with pushing, instructions for breathing, preferred beverages, and so on.

〇 Plans for the time of childbirth Should you wish for your husband or family to be present, be sure to write so in your plan.
On the other hand, should you not want them to be present, be sure to write that as well.
In some cases, a couple may disagree about who should or shouldn't be present during the birth, so make sure you thoroughly discuss this with your spouse.
If you or a member of your group are allowed to cut your umbilical cord, you should state in advance who should be the one to cut it.

〇 Plans for the hospital stay after the birth Consider whether you will be in the same room as your newborn, if you will breastfeed them, instructions for bathing, your preferences for visits, or anything else you might be concerned about.

〇 Medical procedures Although ultimately decisions such as labor induction and whether to perform an episiotomy or not will be made by your doctor based on your and your baby's condition at the time of childbirth, and there is no way of telling for sure if your preferences will be able to be fulfilled, if you have any concerns or if there's something you wish to know more about, you should use your plan to tell that to your maternity hospital and talk with them about it.
You should also write if you want video or photo recordings, or anything else you might prefer to have.

〇 While in the hospital Whether you are in a private or shared room during your stay can impact your fees, so be sure to research and express your preferences.
You also need to know the maternity hospital's systems, such as whether you'll be in the same room as your newborn or only be able to see them at night. If you'll want instructions for things like bathing after returning home, it's necessary to express that.


How you want to spend the once-in-a-lifetime moment when your baby is born, and the research and studying you do in advance is connected to getting the best birth possible for you.
For that sake, it's best to carefully create a birth plan.