Want to know the 5 reasons your birth plan sucks? Keep reading and I can explain
Look I am not trying to argue here. I have been there and done that whole not planning and over planning thing and I just have to say that in all of the hustle bustle, much of what I had in my birth plan was a damn waste of my efforts.
- No birth plan at all. When I didn’t plan at all, I was played by the medical field. Therefore, lots of things happened that shouldn’t have happened. In turn, I also almost lost my first daughter because of it.
2. Don’t over plan and expect it all to go smoothly. When I over planned and hired a doula I honestly felt like I was in total control. I had told myself a big fat lie and suffered with anxiety and depression from the trauma of that birth.
3. Not accounting for a cesarean section in the birth plan. I didn’t have a c-section with any of mine but I have been in the field long enough to know that women totally shut down when they hear that they have to have one. Plan for it even if you never need one.
4. Educate yourself! I can’t stress this enough. Even if you never have to experience anything other than an epidural during birth, it is so much less stressful knowing what your body of cramping for.
5. Not taking into account for any changes. Expect the birth plan to change and make plans accordingly. Have a plan b and a plan c. Maybe even a plan d just in case.
What do you think the five reasons your birth plan sucks?
My first I ripped from birth itself and the rips I had going up were horrific. I didn’t have an episiotomy and I wouldn’t get it even if I were offered one. There was a joke about the husband stitch and I can attest that the doctor actually obliged even though it was a joke.
Second I had a full 4 page birth plan and I went in for a partial water break and ended up being induced.
3rd was a gestational diabetes case with positive strep b test at like 36 weeks and that baby came out hypoglycemic even though I had great numbers and was diet controlled. Last was a planned home birth and baby decided to come way sooner than we expected. So I wanted to labor at home and felt comfortable doing so. Unassisted at only 36 weeks and some change. Tiny but mighty and now a 6 month old chunk.
What do these different births have in common?
Everything changed! Birth plans do not work. It’s great to have goals but if you fully believe everything is going to go to plan 100% you are setting yourself up for a world of hurt. Nothing goes as planned in pregnancy or birth. Let’s get that straight now.
This post isn’t all about the negatives. While all of my births had a different trauma, I was blessed with a child in the end. My body changed a bit after each, but the joy of becoming a mother transitioned from pregnancy through birth encompassed my body. Birth plan or no birth plan. One thing is for sure. My hands and my heart are full.