Birth Planning

What is a birth plan?

We know it isn’t a crystal ball, or a guarantee for how your story will unfold as you journey through childbirth. We also know that parents feel more confident and empowered if they have one.

A birth plan is a list of preferences regarding potential procedures, interventions, standard practices, and options that you get to learn about and decide whether or not you’d like to implement them.

 

What are the benefits of having a birth plan?

Every birth is unique, so whether you’ve had a kiddo before, or it’s your first, it’s always best to prepare ahead of time so that when you’re in the moment, you can stay in-the-zone because you’ve already figured out the answers to the questions that your birth team might ask you.

Parents who have a birth plan often feel more prepared and have the added benefit of visualizing their goals coming to fruition. The birth partner also feels more calm and confident and aware of their role with supporting and advocating for their ideal birth.

Having decisions made ahead of time also helps prevent a stall in labor which can happen when people lose the rhythm and focus that aids in labor progression. It also alleviates concern that can pop up if a medical provider mentions something that you otherwise would not have been familiar with, and helps you stay in control of your birth rather than potentially feeling steamrolled into something.

How the Birth Planning Works:

This service includes 1 virtual prenatal visit to go over potential procedures, birth preferences, and common questions by combining my evidence-based and experience-based information with your instincts and wishes.

You’ll leave the meeting with a custom birth plan using my tried-and-true template, loved by nurses, OBs, and midwives.

Birth plans help you address preferences regarding:

Fetal and Maternal Monitoring

IV and IV fluids

Pain management

Comfort Techniques

Birth Partner Involvement

Religious or Cultural Traditions

Room Environment

Newborn Procedures and Timing

Feeding Goals

Etc.

Taking a look at your options

Using the B.R.A.I.N. tool, you can feel empowered with your choices.

B - Benefits - What is the benefit of doing the suggested thing?

R - Risks - What are the risks of doing the suggested thing?

A - Alternatives - What are the alternatives that you could do instead that would help you to reach the same goal?

I - Instincts - What are your instincts/intuition telling you to do?

N - Nothing - What if you do nothing for now and revisit the idea later?

Fees and Next Steps

The fee for birth planning support is $100, including the discussion of everything ranging from third trimester suggestions, labor procedures or interventions, newborn practices, and any other questions you can come up with as well as the customized, editable birth plan document.

I accept PayPal (debit or credit), Zelle Quickpay, CashApp, Venmo, Cash, or Check.

Think you’d like to talk more?

  1. Reach out to schedule our virtual planning session. Call, email, or text and we’ll compare calendars!

  2. Meet. Chat for up to 90 minutes and come away with a customized birth preferences list.

  3. Print/Save. Take your birth plan to your OB/Midwife to see if they have any suggestions or questions, and to put in your chart.

  4. Edit. Make any changes you’d like using a Google Doc that you can update at any time.

  5. The birth day! Print and have handy in your go-bag to show your birth team what your preferences are.

  6. Yay! No matter how your birth goes, whether it’s exactly as you hoped it would be or far from it, I find that your overall birth satisfaction is greater when you were given the opportunities to make decisions beforehand and along the way. You did it!