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Home › Articles › Labor Preparation › Birth Plan Considerations

Birth Plan Considerations

Tips on Making These Important Pre-baby Choices

By Shannon McKelden

Pages:  1  2  3  4  

These days it's common to include a birth plan in your pre-baby preparations. A birth plan allows you to make choices about labor and delivery while you are still able to participate in decision making.

"The birth plan is an ideal way to communicate her preferences, so the mother-to-be can fully focus on the amazing process of birthing a baby," says Dr. Coral Slavin, doula and owner/director of Well-Rounded Maternity Center in Menomonee Falls, Wis.

But navigating a birth plan can be daunting. Here's an overview of each birth plan step.

Labor Preferences

This step includes choosing where to give birth, hospital or home, and who delivers the baby, an obstetrician or midwife.

Labor choices, according to Dr. Slavin, also include the following:

  • Being able to move around, change position and walk during labor.
  • Setting the environment with low lights, music, aromatherapy, wearing your own clothing and glasses/contacts, etc.
  • Avoiding procedures such as multiple vaginal exams, capped IVs or visits by medical students.
  • Being able to eat and drink.
  • Having the partner, doula, family, etc., present for support.

    Monitoring Preferences

    Internal or external monitoring, continuous or intermittent, affects the way a woman labors.

    "Some women worry about their baby's heart rate, especially through contractions, and would prefer to have continual monitoring despite the fact that they are bedridden," says Jennifer Hunt, a labor and postpartum doula from Colorado Springs, Colo. "Others prefer to have their freedom to move around."

    Labor Augmentation/Induction

    Induction/augmentation choices include stripping membranes; artificially rupturing membranes; medications including Pitocin, prostaglandin gel or Cytotec; and natural methods, such as walking, nipple stimulation, castor oil, intercourse, herbs, etc.

    "There may be restrictions to your requests, such as no food or drink, continuous monitoring or confinement to bed, once you have pain medication or labor augmentation," says Dr. Slavin, who advises women to consider delaying these choices as long as possible.


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