The ideal scenario for any birth is that things go smoothly and everyone is healthy. But there are a lot of different ways to give birth, and your version of things "going smoothly" could be different from someone else's. Abby Walton, a Certified Nurse Midwife at Avera McKennan Hospital & University Health Center, explains what a birth plan is and how to develop a birth plan that accomplishes your goals for bringing baby into the world.
What exactly is a birth plan?
A birth plan is a written summary of your preferences for when you are in labor and giving birth. It includes things like what position you want to give birth in, what pain relief you prefer (if you need it) and who you would like to be with you at the birth. It gives your birthing team at the hospital all the information about your preferences during labor, what’s most important to you and what you would like to avoid, where possible.
For first-time parents, how do you go about making a birth plan?
A good place to start is through a Prepared Childbirth class at your local Avera hospital or birthing facility. This is where you can get all the childbirth information you need. You can tour your local facility while learning about labor and delivery, breastfeeding and practical parenting tips. You’ll also have the opportunity to practice with OBs and midwives:
- Signs and stages of labor
- Positions, breathing, relaxation and massage for labor
- Pain relief options
- Information about cesarean section
- Bathing, changing, swaddling and soothing a crying baby
What about a natural birth plan? How does Avera help facilitate these requests?
Most people use the term to mean an unmedicated vaginal birth with minimal intervention. A natural birth plan is a plan aimed at helping a woman achieve that goal. It can include your wishes to avoid an epidural and skip interventions where possible. One important thing to keep in mind: Labor can be unpredictable, so birth plans shouldn't be set in stone. It can help to think of your natural birth plan more as a list of preferences for how you'd like to labor, deliver and recover and less like a binding contract. In the event that the needs of you or your baby change, you and your health care team may decide that your birth plan needs to be adjusted as well.
If labor is progressing and risks have been managed, there are several options available to moms to help keep pain in check without the use of medication:
- Practices like guided imagery, touch or massage therapy, hydrotherapy (water therapy), aromatherapy, breathing exercises, and even moving around or changing positions can all be effective options for working through the pain.
- At Avera McKennan in Sioux Falls, hydrotherapy can also include water births for moms who are low risk and who’s labor is progressing normally. Offering this in the hospital setting not only gives moms another option to naturally manage their pain, but provides mom and baby the safest place for this type of delivery.
Why is it important to make a birth plan?
We want you to lead the charge and we’re going to both listen and advocate for your wishes. The more research you do before developing your birth plan, the more prepared you will be.
Learn more about midwifery care
