Learning different tools during your birth experience can have a dramatic impact on the decision making process.
Birth plans should be:
- Simple/easy for reader to understand.
- Realistic, talk to your care provider before delivery about what options will be available to you.
- Short, many people will likely need to read during delivery, use bulleted words or phrases.
- Flexible, remember to prepare for the unexpected.
Topics to include on your birth plan:
- Early Labor
- Comfort Measures
- Pushing/Positions
- Who is to be included/excluded.
- Immediately after delivery.
- Feeding desires
- Newborn procedures
- Rooming In/Skin to Skin
How to create your birth plan:
- Visit websites to see sample birth plans (birthingbabiesva.com/resources).
- Take hospital tours to learn more about options available at different facilities.
- Talk to friends and family members about their birth experiences and how it made them feel.
- Take a childbirth class to learn more about different options available to you.
A simple birth plan can look something like this: bbvabirthplan.
To learn more about how to create your birth plan, check out Birthing Babies VA’s Birth Planning Webinar.
