L&D nurses - can you look at my birth plan?

[Lola77]

Hello, I posted on here earlier about my desire for a natural childbirth and the best way to approach the L&D nurses/be successful/not feel pressured into things. A lot of you responded and I really appreciate it. Like I said in my previous post, the hospital I will be birthing at has an excellent reputation for dealing with premature and sick babies (level III NICU, etc) but has a bad reputation for natural deliveries (unsupportive staff, 41% c-section rate, mandatory nursery time, etc) so I was hoping to be able to make it a good experience for everyone.

I was wondering if you would read my birth plan and tell me if the L&D nurses will just laugh at me or be glad I made my preferences known? Any advice would be great.

I know things may not work out the way I want, but I want to try to have my natural birthing experience and just hope to have a nice, supportive nurse :)

Thank you!

Birth Plan for ****** *******

Care Provider: **** ****** C.N.M.

Doula: *** *******

Facility: ****** ******* ****** ********

My husband and I have chosen to use the Hypnobirthing method of birthing in order to experience a natural, pain medicine-free birth. We are very excited about giving birth at **** ***** and hope to have an amazing experience. If possible, we would like to request a nurse who is familiar with and supportive of natural childbirth. The following are our birthing preferences for during labor and after the birth of our son:

During Labor:

1.To be supported in our choice to use Hypnobirthing techniques to naturally birth our baby by keeping the room quiet, the lights low, interruptions kept to a minimum, and speaking in a quiet voice.

2.To be supported in our choice to not have an epidural or pain medication.

3.To have my doula, **** ******, and my husband, ***** *******, at my side during labor.

4.To be free to walk around and change positions during labor. [note: they have wireless monitoring]

5.To be fully apprised and consulted before the introduction of any medical procedure including but not limited to: administering pitocin, cutting an episiotomy, breaking my water, etc.

6.When fully dilated, to be allowed to birth in a calm, quiet atmosphere free of prompts to “push”.

Post-Partum:

1.To have immediate skin-to-skin contact with baby after deliver.

2.To exclusively breastfeed baby.

3.Delay application of Erythromycin to eyes for one hour to allow for eye contact with baby and bonding.

4.To delay cord clamping/cutting until after pulsation has stopped.

5.Mandatory nursery time to be as short as possible. Baby to remain in room with parents whenever possible.

6.No circumcision.

*In the event that a special circumstance arises that causes us to deviate from our planned natural birth, we trust that you will provide us with a clear explanation of the special circumstance, the medical need for any procedure you many anticipate, and what options are available before proceeding. Thank you for reading this and helping us have a safe, memorable and satisfying natural birthing experience.

[MommyandRN]

Don't stress too much about your birth plan. You can never predict what will happen. The important thing is for you to heave a healthy baby as an end result. Best of luck for a smooth delivery!

[mugwump]

I can't wait to read the update on what actually happens. Your birthplan sounds very reasonable. But keep this in mind birth is a fluid dance. Nothing happens by itself and everything affects everything else. I do NOT agree with the mandatory nursery time, I would probably fight it, site other hospitals in the area that don't and call it fraud (although since your insurance is the hospital it probably won't fly) The only thing in your birthplan that I may or may not have an issue is with not cut the cord until it stops pulseating, some people are very lets say strict on this and don't see the bigger picture. most of the time not a big deal, but there are instances where it does need to be cut. "Tight" cord around the neck that cannot be reduced, the baby not breathing with stimulation or a short cord. sometimes the cord literally won't reach to put the baby on your chest. I personally would rather have the cord cut and the baby on me, that the cord pulsating and the baby in the doctors gloved hand. just saying. Good luck, I hope you have a great expierience

[OBRN4U]

I hope I don't offend anyone but, THROW YOUR BIRTH PLAN AWAY BECAUSE YOU ASKING FOR A STAT C-SECTION. 10+ experience in Labor and Delivery as an RN. Good luck!!

[melmarie23, MSN, RN]

I hope I don't offend anyone but, THROW YOUR BIRTH PLAN AWAY BECAUSE YOU ASKING FOR A STAT C-SECTION. 10+ experience in Labor and Delivery as an RN. Good luck!!

well thats super encouraging.

[LDRNMOMMY, BSN, RN]

I personally would refuse "mandatory" nursery time. It CAN be done and there is absolutely no valid reason to require a healthy baby to go to the nursery. In fact, quite the opposite, the only evidence proves it is harmful.

I think your birth plan looks fine-- but remember your provider drives what can and can'y be done so be sure they are on board. Especially for the case of delayed cord clamping, have someone (probably your doula) watching to be sure it happens. Once it's clamped you can't go back and most providers clamp right away.

As for monitoring, intermittent auscultation (q 30 min in active labor, q 15 minutes while pushing) is equally effective as conitnous monitoring without increasing the c-section rate. Telemetry monitoring is often a huge PITA and affects mom's mobility.

Best of luck!

I agree with refusing nursery time. I delivered both of my children in hospitals without nurseries.

The hospital where I last worked had telemetry monitors. They are a good idea in theory, but more times than not I had to chase my patients down the hall because the monitors slipped and I had to verify that what I was seeing on the tracing was maternal HR and not baby.

Congrats on the impending arrival of your new baby!