Welcoming Audrey: The Birth Plan

Writing a birth plan was something that I did not even know I could do. But as I did more research on what I could expect during a scheduled C-Section, I learned that a lot of women had done this exact process. Being as nervous as I was, I wanted to make sure that I took the time ahead of our scheduled section to write out my wishes. I also wanted to make sure that my husband wasn’t being presented with questions that could potentially distract him from the experience as well.

So I took my adventure to google, and I did find a lot of useful information. My team at the Maternal Fetal Medicine practice, thought that it would be incredibly helpful for me to attend a birthing class based on a c-section so that any questions that I had could be appropriately answered. During this class I also presented the idea of a birth plan, and the instructor thought that it would be helpful for me to write one expressing my wishes, but also explaining that this experience is different for me- because I would be awake for it. During Julias birth I was put under with general anesthesia so I was not able to witness the surgery.

A wishlist that I had for Audreys birth consisted of a few key elements for me. But they were all pretty basic requests. I was very happy when the care team I was in took the plan and added it into my medical file so that on the morning of my surgery we were all familiar with it. My delivery nurse was also fantastic- she helped prop my phone up for music and also used my husbands phone to take pictures of the birth for us. I was also told that providing everything was safe and we were not in an emergent situation, that I was in a better place to have some of my wishes honored. I did also understand that I was in a medical environment, so that meant making sure that first and foremost I respected the opinion of my delivering doctor.

If you are considering writing a birth plan for your delivery, have a conversation with your care team to see what the best decisions are for you and your baby,