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Plan B: making a birth plan

Many hospitals ask to you write a birth plan before you have your baby. But what should you include and will your wishes be taken into account? Christine Hill investigates

What is the point of a plan?
• Your midwife is not only anxious to make sure your baby is safely delivered, she wants you to have as good an experience as possible.
• A birth plan is useful because it gives her an indication of how well prepared you are and what sort of birth you would like.
• It helps her to know if she is caring for a woman with realistic expectations or one with romantic, dogmatic but unrealistic ideals which may jeopardise her baby's well-being.
• Making a plan will help you to focus on your baby's birth.

Are there any drawbacks?
The only problem with a birth plan is that you can't plan the type of birth you are going to have any more than you can plan the type of baby you will deliver (and be wary of any antenatal teacher who says that you can). It goes without saying that a healthy baby is more important than a certain type of delivery. You must be flexible - you can plan the type of birth you would like to have, just as you can dream about the baby you would like, but things don't always work out the way you intend.

So what should I put on it?

There are two requests that are relevant to everybody:
• 'I would like to keep an open mind.' By saying this, you are acknowledging that you can't accurately predict how your labour will go. Having said this, you might want to add 'Epidural' or 'A natural birth if possible', depending on what your ideal would be.
• 'I would like to see a doctor after about an hour's pushing.' Most obstetricians and obstetric physiotherapists believe it's not in the interests of a woman's long-term health to push for too long. An obstetrician will be able to assess that your pelvic floor muscles are not becoming overstretched or damaged.

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