The Birth Plan

This birth plan is intended to express the preferences and desires we have for the birth of our baby. It is not intended to be a script. We fully realize that situations may arise such that our plan cannot and should not be followed. However, we hope that barring any extenuating circumstances, you will be able to keep us informed and aware of our options. We appreciate your support.

• We are hoping for an unmedicated birth, with as little intervention as possible, and hope to have a nurse who supports and believes in unmedicated births.
• I understand that the baby and I must be monitored, but I prefer it to be done as little as possible. According to the ACOG standards is fine.
• I am not planning on using pain medication or an epidural. Please help me avoid them. Please do not offer pain medication; I will ask for it if I want it.
• I wish to drink clear and light colored fluids if I feel thirsty.
• I prefer a heparin lock to an IV. Please place heparin lock when doing initial blood draw.
• I would like to be able to change positions and labor outside of the bed, even if my water has broken. Also, I may want to push and deliver in alternative positions such as squatting, side lying, or using a squat bar. I prefer to use people for leg support.
• I would like to be able to take a warm shower for pain relief.
• I would prefer not to have my water broken; I prefer it to break on its own.
• Please help me avoid an episiotomy! Please use compresses and perineal massage to help avoid tearing.
• We are donating our baby’s cord blood to the public cord blood bank. My husband does not plan to cut the cord.
• Barring complications, please place the baby directly on my abdomen (skin to skin) after the birth. I would like at least one hour with our baby, undisturbed, to bond and breastfeed.
• We do not want our baby to go to the nursery at all. If the baby must be taken to the nursery, my husband will accompany the baby at all times.
• If our baby is a boy, he will not be circumcised.
• Our baby is to be exclusively breastfed--please do not give artificial nipples of any kind.
• If a cesarean delivery becomes necessary, please allow my husband to remain with me for my surgery and my doula to wait for me in my recovery room. My husband will stay with our baby until we can be reunited. Please allow me to breastfeed as soon as possible.