Birthing plan for a scheduled c-section?

landonsles · Nov 20, 2008

Interesting...I have never seen that before.

I am wondering if maybe she wanted a little control over a situation where she felt she would have none. KWIM? Eight weeks ago, I had my fourth baby via primary c/s for breech presentation. I felt like I had no control over anything--luckily for me I had her in my own L&D unit, so they knew my wishes. Just an example--at my hospital, we do not have the baby in recovery with the mother after a c/s--and that was a big deal to me. If I was not on my home turf so to speak, then I probably would have appreciated having a birth plan even though it was a c/s.

Jolie, BSN · Nov 20, 2008

I think it's a reasonable idea.

Just as labor can be unpredictable, forcing women to make decisions "on the fly", so can a C-section be. If the patient had experienced unanticipated complications, she may have required general anesthesia or sedation, making her unable to speak up about her preferences in a timely manner. Fortunately, this rarely happens with a planned C-section, so having a birth plan may seem unnecessary to us, but it probably gave her peace of mind.

I'm glad it was simple and straight-forward.

HeartsOpenWide, RN · Nov 20, 2008

We had a patient come in awhile back for a schedule c-section for breech presentation. She came with a birth plan which include basics, wanted to breastfeed in the recovery, did not want baby to get hep b vaccine, wanted son circumsized, etc... (wanted her husband to cut the cord, we had to 86 that one)
Has anyone else ever seen this? Her birth plan was simple and reasonable to the point that I thought it wasn't even necessary to have one. Most of her requests are question in our nursing admission. I guess I've always figured birthing plans were for women who came in hard labor and were too focused on dealing with their labor to effectively have their wishes expressed. Thoughts?

Birth plans are for everyone. They don't just include the birth but what they want done after the birth. I.E. things done or not done to baby, keep placenta, breastfeed (some people get strict like "I plan to only breastfeed, do not give my baby formula, sugar water, or a pacifier"), dad with baby during any procedures, oral vit K vs inj, ect ect.

Elvish, BSN, DNP, RN, NP · Nov 20, 2008

Sounds very reasonable to me, esp if the facility is one that doesn't normally keep baby w/ mom in recovery for very long (if at all). I wish more moms would speak up about wanting to breastfeed in recovery.

The other requests sound fine too - sounds more like she wanted to make her wishes known from the get-go so a) she wouldn't have to make them on the spot; or b) have to have 20 people asking her the same thing.

radmom · Nov 20, 2008

A few years ago I had a scheduled c-section and provided a birth plan as well.. The main reason being was if I had to argue with someone about what I had wanted or expected, I didnt want to find out the day of delivery. My baby had Trisomy 18 and I knew my time with him would be very limited. I think having something in writing enabled the staff to know how to respond to me in what could have been a very unsettling experience. My main goal was to give my son a peaceful life, however brief.