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  |  Pregnancy  |  Labour/delivery  |  How to write a birth plan
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How to write a birth plan

continued from page 1

Other issues to think about:

Use of the birthing pool

If the hospital has one, it is a perfectly reasonable request to put on your birth plan but it is worth prefixing it with a question mark - however sure you may be before you go into labour. Contrary to what you might have read or been told, you really will not know if water will suit you during labour until you actually try it. You don't want the embarrassment of insisting that you want a water birth and then finding you don't find water at all helpful.

Do you want your baby delivered straight onto your tummy, or not?

Some women feel strongly that they want to receive their baby immediately, and some women don't even want to hold their baby until he/she is all wrapped up in a blanket. From your baby's point of view it's irrelevant. Whatever you feel you want will be the right thing to do.

Does your partner want to cut the cord?

Again, it doesn't matter, but if your partner has strong feelings one way or another mention it to your midwife.

Birth plan issues that women feel strongly about:

  • Episiotomies The decision to do an episiotomy, or to let you tear, is made by the person who delivers you and it is important to trust their judgement. Some people mistakenly believe that it is terribly important to avoid an episiotomy at all costs. But a third degree tear (which involves the anal sphincter muscle) is bad news. An episiotomy should avoid this happening.



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