Many women describe feeling extremely confident, grateful, and proud of themselves and their bodies after a supportive and joyful VBAC experience. If you are approaching your due date, I would also strongly recommend you take a prenatal or birthing class (it doesn’t have to be hypnobirthing): having a good understand of what happens during birth can be really empowering and take a lot of the stress and anxiety away. Plus, during these classes, they usually give lots of tips and information on what to do during the first few weeks with a newborn after birth. This is probably implied in the point above, but better make it very clear that you don’t want anything to happen to your baby until you’ve successfully bonded with them and nursed them for the first time. Having a birth plan allows you to share your wishes with all the doctors and nurses that will be taking care of you, so that they can support you during your labor and delivery in the best possible way. Do you Have to Have a Birth Plan?

Did you notice that I highlighted simply above? I did this on purpose. The entire format of a birth plan is to provide the item in birth, delivery, and newborn care, which is most important to you as the parents. I am also grateful that she gave me a sample template that I could use, so I am hoping to do the same for you here, and help you achieve a positive birth experience. A birth plan also allows your birth team to have a look and confirm those choices without disrupting you during labor. This way you can just focus on your breathing! Extend a respectful, hands-off approach to the incredible first latch! After placing your baby skin-to-skin on your chest, you can gently support them as they use their incredible instincts to wiggle their way to your breast. #breastcrawl Use of ventouse or forceps - Between 5 and 20 per cent of all births require the help of forceps or the ventouse cap (suction cap). An instrumental delivery is performed by an obstetrician if your baby is in distress, you're exhausted and can no longer push, nothing is happening or the baby's head is an unusual position. If your baby is in distress, you may not have a choice about an instrumental delivery, but if you feel you want to be given sufficient chance to push your baby out on your own, discuss this with your midwife. If you have a preference for one instrument or the other, write this down on your plan.Make fully informed choices. Every birth is different, and many choices will have to be made on the day itself. But with your plan, you will always be reminded that you have options and are part of the decision-making process.

If it’s going to be on your birth plan, know why it’s on your birth plan. The last thing you want is for a nurse or doctor to ask you why you desire something and your answer to be ‘I don’t know. Oxytocin initiates the rhythmic pressure waves and moves birthing forward. It reaches its peak levels as the baby's head emerges and stays high during the Golden Hour. Definitely one of my best tips for having a birth without epidural, and you should really take advantage of this during the first stage of labor as, once you transition and feel the need to start pushing, you won’t be able to walk at all! Even though you can ask for this one when having a c-section as well, we felt too pressured to cut it earlier when my first daughter was born, and were only able to wait the whole time after my vaginal delivery with our second daughter.

Wise Birth Doula Services is extraordinary, she has enjoyed looking through my visual birth plan. As a nurse and doula she has explained many of the ‘whys’ to the medical procedures done throughout delivery and childbirth. As we will discuss below, it is important for you to know why you want what you want on your birth plan. A doula is an excellent way to have that support. That said, a birth plan is more like a list of “birth preferences”: a list of things that you’d like to have or happen during your birth experience ( before, during and after labor and delivery), or things that you’d prefer to avoid if possible. It doesn’t necessarily mean everything will go according to what’s written in it but, when you are in labor you won’t have time to discuss any of it with the medical team around you. birth trauma can be very triggering. Giving yourself space to process your birth - privately, with a friend, a support group, postpartum doula and/ or therapist who specialises in PTSD from childbirth and birth trauma - can help you move forward.

List any specific things you really want to happen, such as birth positions and holding your baby straight away. Planned C-section: By now, you may already know t

According to Healthline, sitting on the ball in an upright position encourages the opening of your pelvic muscles, helping baby’s descent, and it can reduce stress and anxiety, as well as labor pain. Remember that every year around the world hundreds of thousands of women give birth by VBAC. Your body still remembers how to [...] give birth. Your baby–like all babies, if given the opportunity–will start the [pressure waves], working in harmony with the hormones that instigate and maintain [birth]. " - Diana Korte Visualization and breathing techniques can both be very powerful when giving birth and can really help achieve a natural and unmedicated birth. While visualization techniques can really create acceptance, belief and confidence in achieving the birth that you’ve always imagined, proper breathing during labor allows your body to relax and send more oxygen down your uterus. If you’re wondering what to include in a birth plan, use the birth plan example template below (Customizable Google Doc provided at the bottom)

You can change your mind about your wishes for labour and birth at any time. Your personal circumstances The powerful differences in the medical model of care and the holistic midwifery model of care cannot be overstated. Midwifery care focuses on the belief in and support of the natural, physical processes of childbirth and early life while placing power in the hands of the birthing person to bring their child into the world. One of the first steps to creating a birth plan is thinking through what TYPE of birth you want to have. While you don’t HAVE to decide this ahead of time, it can inform your birth plan (and necessary preparations before birth) quite a bit. Let’s take a look at the options: There are several studies that confirm how using aromatherapy during labor can help manage pain and manage anxiety and, as a result, create a greater satisfaction with the childbirth experience. So, if you are hoping for a natural birth and exploring some pain management techniques, have a look into it. At the end of the day, what you’re trying to do is make yourself feel ready for this next, very exciting and daunting phase of your life.

I would suggest you do your research and find out what happens in the hospital where you are planning on giving birth and, if they have a nursery, make sure to include this point in your birth plan. Of all the pain relief options available during birth, this is the one that I was open to in case I wasn’t going to cope with the pain. I never ended up needing it or using it, but I had it in my birth plan and have included it in this free editable birth plan template in case you also want it there.