Birth plan

tbf they dont even really pay attention to you with your birth plan, and nothing is really like ‘official’ unless theres allergies or something then they put that in your notes but it isnt like a proper process, its more just a casual conversation and it usually 9/10 gets ignored or forgotton, or then because if you go to hospital its not the same midwives anyway so they have no clue and you end up being reasked by the labour department anyway or told you cant because of not enough space etc

what an absolute shambles! My mum can’t believe how it is for us. She was telling me how her midwife (30 years ago) would come to her house and she had her on speed dial. Would bring my mum home cooked meals and was there throughout the whole birth. 😂 we are WORLDS away from that kind of treatment. It’s so sad.

I’m not even bothering with a birth plan! I plan to just go with the flow 😂 from what I’ve heard they rarely go to plan 🤷🏼‍♀️ I must say though cannot fault my midwife she has been absolutely amazing and always just on the other end of the phone if I need her x

I don’t even have a phone number for my midwife. Just an email address which goes to all of the community midwives. You’re lucky!
I more want some support and to be able to at least discuss things. I got shot down instantly and told to wait until 36 weeks to even chat about things 😂

If you have a plan that you want to discuss and it’s important to you, I would definitely bring it up in appointments or you could contact the maternity voices partnership at your hospital. They can put you in touch with the head of midwifery and you can raise your concerns. I would also have your preferences written down, discuss with your birth partner so they know what you want and what’s important to you during labour. It’s good to remember that your plan isn’t really a ‘plan’ it’s more just preferences and things you would like or are willing to consider. So while you can have preferences you should still be open minded about things. As Charlee says the midwife you have the appointment with won’t be the midwife who is with you in labour so I think it’s more important that you’ve thought about all your options, discussed it with your birth partner and have a few copies of it printed out. If the midwife doesn’t look at it, your partner should be the one telling them to.

yep its not even remotely the same anymore, thats why i dont use them anymore, anything from the nhs is usually half arsed or underfunded, just figure out the things you want with your birth plan and advocate for yourself!

- pain relief? if so which
- water birth/ bed birth/ home birth/ csection
- cord clamping yes or no?
- golden hour yes or no?
- injections after birth for placenta and baby?
- birthing partners
- partner to cut cord?
- back up route for emergency csection?

thats about all you can think about i think off the top of my head, im on baby 4 so if you need any advice let me know xx

I would also write preferences for if you have a c section, just incase.

See a birth plan instead as an informed set of preferences for the various parts of giving birth, including as someone above has said -
Where do you want to give birth?
What’s your preferred place (birth centre, home, hospital - then bed, water, floor), second best, third best.

Do you want delayed (1-3min) or optimal cord clamping and do you know why it’s best for babies to wait as long as possible?

What pain relief options are you interested in? Does your hospital or birth centre have holistic options and would you like to try them or just go for medical pain relief? If medical don’t understand the side effects too as some could be unpleasant and long lasting.

Always plan for an emergency caesarean, especially if you are having an induction as the chance of it shoots up.

I’m running my regular free birth plan workshop on Zoom on 11 Oct if you’d like some guidance about the NHS template and then you can take what you need from it.x

https://birth-boss.com/booking

this is awesome thank you, I have booked in for the 11th.
I’ve been told to fill out my preferences for my 36 week appt too x

My consultant asked me for my birthing plan last week at 29 weeks so have started filling it out for my appointment with her again next Monday. I used the nhs template which was pretty much everything has mentioned above and question about vitamin k/injection for placenta delivery preferences x

I’ve joined the class after seeing your post, thanks for posting x

If you got got badger note app you can write your birth plan but from what I heard no one really bothers with it

Mine is delayed also as I too have regular scans plus some underlying bits. It’s worth just thinking about your preferences but I wouldn’t stress that it is delayed compared to the norm. For mine, my mid-wife really wants to see what options are open to me. In general just have a think about preferences and just be flexible.x

This is hard I’m sorry you’ve been so underwhelmed by your midwife experience so far. When I asked about mine with my midwife she was open to discussion but made it clear that it’s important not to get too hung up on it- she said it’s definitely a trend at the moment and ladies get really disappointed when it can’t be followed to the letter. Maybe they’re trying to manage expectations just not explaining very well? However it doesn’t mean you can’t write one yourself and make sure your birth partner isn’t totally aware of your preferences :)