I was reading around, and saw quite a few posters who seem to think kinda badly of birth plans, and just curious as to why? Is it because the patient made one, or because some/all of the requests were unsafe or just plain stupid? I made a birthplan for my daughter, but all it really said was:
*NO ONE was to take her anywhere without either my husband or myself.
*If complications arose that I wanted her safety to take priority over mine.
*No forceps (I saw horrible pictures of babies who had these types of deliveries, and it terrified me!), but vacuum was ok if nessisary.
*NO ONE was to ASK me I wanted pain meds- I wanted to do drug free, and thought that if I had someone ask me, that it might have been too easy to accept.
I must admit when I go to set up for a delivery and I see a birth plan lying amonst my paperwork, I inwardly groan. I work at a high-risk hospital, and natural labor and so forth are not common. However, we tend to experience the same situation where a birth plan mom will end up with chorio and a stat C/S.
I think I have an aversion to the birth plan because it makes me feel like the pt. does not trust me as her baby's nurse. That somehow my job is to torture her newborn by giving it eye ointment and Vitamin K and prevent her from bonding when the doctor gives the baby directly to me to dry off and wrap up. This couldn't be further from the truth. I want what is best for the baby.
My feelings aside, I do respect the wishes of the birth plan when I can. Even if that means I have to remember to run back down to L&D and give the baby meds one hour later because that is what our policy says.
Am I missing an important piece of research that says if a baby has erythromycin right after birth it somehow fails to bond with the mother?
I also have had a bad experience before with a birth plan mother who complained to our director about a multitude of problems she had from her ugly room to pt. care. So when I see that a mother has a birth plan I wonder if she is going to have unrealistic expectations of our staff.
Sigh, anyway, I had to vent. I have enjoyed reading the responses on this thread. It has given me a new perspective on the topic.
When I worked as a tech in a Nicu several years ago, L&D would give us a heads up if anyone arrived with a multi-page birth plan. The more detailed it was the more it seemed that they ended up with a stat c-section and a long Nicu stay.
Seems to be that way where I work too, ukstudent. I get them post-delivery (no L/D for me) and it's interesting to compare the tone of their birth plan -- how demanding/aggressive it is -- and the outcome of the delivery.
The ones that are the most flexible are almost always the moms who have a good NSVD and a healthy baby. The ones that are written down to the minutest detail of who can't and can't breathe around the baby, those are the ones who get a crash section & the babe wins herself a ticket to intensive care!!
ROFL sounds way beyond reasonable to me. I would have offered you food, one of my cranberry-apple spritzers (I offer these to all my new mommies) and a hug, just for good measure.
Am I missing an important piece of research that says if a baby has erythromycin right after birth it somehow fails to bond with the mother?
The (legitimate) concern there is that is causes a neonates already poor vision to become even worse, which can definitely interfere with eye contact during that period.
There's also the concern that the erythro ointment is irritating (it is, I tried it), and many mothers want to delay or avoid as much discomfort to their children as possible.
The (legitimate) concern there is that is causes a neonates already poor vision to become even worse, which can definitely interfere with eye contact during that period.
There's also the concern that the erythro ointment is irritating (it is, I tried it), and many mothers want to delay or avoid as much discomfort to their children as possible.
Wow. My wife will be delivering soon and we have a birth plan. I work in a hospital so I know what the nurses say about patients when they are out of earshot. I think its kind of sad that most of you are so put off with these plans (aside from really absurd requests). We did not take into account the convenience or inconvenience of the nursing staff when we wrote the plan....because its not about the nurse.
If you wonder why people seem so aggressive or demanding, maybe you should read all these posts. Maybe they are actually just feeling defensive. After reading these myself, it seems they might be justified.
To the person who mentioned that a baby cannot read a birth plan, keep in mind that a baby doesn't know jack about hospital policy or your break schedule either.
For some reason I was hoping L&D nurses might be a little different, but I guess not. I will definitely have my guard up now.
Wow. My wife will be delivering soon and we have a birth plan. We did not take into account the convenience or inconvenience of the nursing staff when we wrote the plan....because its not about the nurse.
For some reason I was hoping L&D nurses might be a little different, but I guess not. I will definitely have my guard up now.
The birth plan is about the patient, the baby, the nurse and the doctor. All are involved and needed to see it through. Many here seem perfectly fine with one that is reasonable. A lot of things included in birth plans are fairly standard. Some things that can be added aren't something the patient, nurses, etc. can control. Some of the examples given on this thread are the extremes. You can't demand no c-section because one might be needed for your safety and that of your baby. You might need a foley. The staff should ask about pain because it is part of their job and should be documented.
Talk to your doctor and covering doctors BEFORE the birth about your desires to see if they are agreeable to them. Give yourself a chance to switch doctors if need be. Ask about what is done as policy and procedure in the hospital you will be giving birth. Educate yourself so you can be prepared. I've read keeping the birth plan to one page is best.
Don't go in with a bug in your bonnet. That helps no one. Go in calm so your wife will be calm. Go over the plan but know flexability might be necessary. Be positive and happy. Know things might change and keep in mind the end result is a healthy and happy wife and baby. Best of luck to all of you. :)
I work in newborn nursery so the birth plan doesn't as much apply to us, although parts do . . . but I will say I dislike birth plans that expect us to act like a birthing center - if someone wants a certain type of birth, a birthing center is a better choice. We do want to use EFM, we do want an IV, we do want you to deliver using the stirrups with decent lighting.
In nursery/PP, we have problems with the no pacifiers, no bottle babies, as yes, those are the babies that may end up jaundiced and need to be supplemented. To clarify, I'm not against that totally, I'm against you refusing bottles & pacifiers and expecting us to keep the baby in the nursery. You should keep your own baby so you can nurse him when he cries, and not get mad at us for bringing him to you every hour. If he's crying and you just nursed for an hour, that is not my fault and yes, he is still acting hungry, and I have to bring him back to you. Some things I just don't get, like they don't want the baby bathed? Why the heck not? One baby they said this for had thick mec. Ew. They changed their minds on that!
Bottom line is that most birth plans say the same thing, some more extreme than others. If you want to go natural, you want to go natural, that's the gist of most of it. It's hard to plan a birth, as you don't know what will happen. I'd skip it and just tell them when you get there that you want to go natural. What does it hurt if they offer you pain meds? You can say no and they aren't going to force you.
When I was pregnant with my oldest, 30 years ago, there was of course, no such thing.
When I had my second,both of us were laid off, and our insurance did NOT continue when we were laid off:mad:, and I had to go to the local county hospital instead of the one in the larger city where my girls were born. I DID have a birth plan for this one, and I swear to you I am not making this up. I asked my doc that:
A. I NOT be restrained in labor. I had several girlfriends tell me they tied their hands down while in labor. (And the doc told me it was true, an older doc who thought he owned the place, and whom everyone loved for some unknown reason (I sure didnt') wanted it that way.)
B. I asked for an epidural. I was the first laboring woman in this hospital to ever have an epidural - they had to call an anesthetist from the hospital in the next county to do it.
And the nurses griped and belly ached at me the entire labor about it all. But I DID get what I asked for, all of their griping aside, and it was as pleasant as I expected I could get from there.
However, when I had my third one, (employed again by then), I did NOT go back there.
rn/writer, RN
9 Articles; 4,168 Posts
Wonderful! If I'd had a birth plan for any of my tribe, that's what I would have wanted.