Your Birth Plan:

As your chosen doula, my mission is to

support you in giving birth in your own
best way. In order for me to do that, you
need to determine what your own best
way is. Writing a birth plan makes the
decisions relating to your body, your
birth and your baby clear to me, your
entire birth team and, most importantly,
to you.
Taking the time to sit down and think
about your birth will illuminate what is really important to you. Having this
clarity can help make any decisions that need to be made during your birth
feel much less overwhelming.
Additionally, once you have things written out, you can use your plan to
guide important conversations with the primary attendants you are using for
your birth. This helps build trust and confidence between you and your
attendants. The first time you have a good chat about choices and options
shouldn’t be during your birth.

Finally, it helps your attendants get to know you. Having substantive

prenatal discussions sets you apart as an individual, and shows your birth
attendants that you are someone who thinks for yourself and who may
question or decline routine procedures.

Let’s start with some routine medical birthing procedures/

interventions that you have the right to question or decline. *Each
topic is hyperlinked to more information. I’ve tried to source information that
presents the benefits and risks when applicable.

• Artificial Rupture of the Membranes (AROM)

• Cervical/Vaginal Exams During Labour
• Fetal Heart Monitoring
• Induction or Augmentation of the Birth Process
• Epidural
• Cesarean
• Episiotomy
• Directed Pushing

Now, let’s move on to some topics concerning your baby.

• Delayed or Optimal Cord Cutting

• Immediate Skin-to-Skin Contact after Birth
• Vitamin K
• Eyedrops
• Foreskin Removal/Circumcision

Now, armed with a little more knowledge, it’s time to make a plan.
Use my prepared template: Click Here
Or simply write your own…(you can use my template as a guide)
If you choose to write your own, your birth plan should be:

• Short and point form: this makes it easier to read and more likely to
be read in its entirety
• Realistic and relevant: include only things that you and your
attendants can control, such as things that are important to you, your
philosophy, and your preferences

If you choose to write your own, your birth plan should include:

• Your wishes for creating an optimum birthing environment.

• Pain management preferences
 • Inductions/Augmentation preferences
• Pushing, delivery & birth preferences
• Umbilical cord & placenta preferences
• Your baby’s newborn care preferences (Feeding)
• Unexpected labour events: (Nicu, Cesarean)

Things to keep in mind about birth plans:

I will make sure that the medical staff attending your birth have copies of
your birth plan, and will help remind them of your choices along the way.
That said, attendants working in the medical system sometimes may be
obligated to recommend things that are contrary to what you note your
wishes are on the birth plan. This doesn’t necessarily mean they haven’t
read or don’t respect your plan, it’s just a reality of birthing inside a medical
system that requires practitioners to recommend certain things at certain
times. I WILL advocate for your right to take time to make decisions about
giving your informed consent/refusal to any medical procedures suggested
to you.