Do you (or did you) have a birth plan?

I'm just a mum to one, right now (DD is just over 1!) but when I was pregnant, everyone I knew who was also pregnant had birth plans written out. I'm not sure if I was just disorganised in not having one, but I guess my birth plan was just to try my best to go with the flow of what happened. I didn't want to stress myself out trying to have everything go my way if it wasn't meant to be.


What about you? Is a birth plan something you have considered? What sort of things are you including on yours, if you are writing one?

I do not have a written out birth plan. Instead, I have an idea of what sort of birth I would like and have been looking for a supportive midwife. Hopefully Tuesday my search will be over.

My ideal birth plan was to have a waterbirth at home, but I live in a transitional housing project currently and despite having a private apartment the case worker has objected to birthing in the apartment. The birthing center where I will give birth is a pleasant alternative. The area is peaceful and has none of the hospital room atmosphere. The midwife is a firm believer in homeopathic medicine and has been practicing for quite a while. I'm hoping to have as natural of a birth as possible for my situation, so I am hoping to avoid a hospital and any unnecessary interventions.

Morted said:
I do not have a written out birth plan. Instead, I have an idea of what sort of birth I would like and have been looking for a supportive midwife. Hopefully Tuesday my search will be over.

My ideal birth plan was to have a waterbirth at home, but I live in a transitional housing project currently and despite having a private apartment the case worker has objected to birthing in the apartment. The birthing center where I will give birth is a pleasant alternative. The area is peaceful and has none of the hospital room atmosphere. The midwife is a firm believer in homeopathic medicine and has been practicing for quite a while. I'm hoping to have as natural of a birth as possible for my situation, so I am hoping to avoid a hospital and any unnecessary interventions.

I've heard a lot of positive things about birthing centers from people I know that have delivered there! Hopefully your search for a good midwife that you feel comfortable with is successful! I definitely think having a team that you click with is a huge help in making the process as smooth as it can be!

I didn't have any kind of a written birth plan, no. I just figured that I'd take one step at a time and everything would work itself out... which it did.
I realize that if my daughter hadn't been born five weeks early, this may have changed, but as it was, I hadn't even given much thought to the specifics. I was so nervous and excited and terrified at the same time that I wanted to keep the stress level down by not thinking about things like that too much. (Previous miscarriage, and then a scare in that pregnancy, too.)

I had a birth plan but my actual birth was SO different to how I planned so I wish I hadn't bothered! I'm just glad I planned to give birth in a doctor-led hospital rather than a birthing centre, that's the advice I would give to a first time mum. Go with the flow and don't stress if it isn't going how you imagined, as long as your baby is delivered safe and well that's all that matters

I didn't really have a birth plan written down, but I have visualized how it would happen during my first pregnancy. Well, but it didn't turn out to be the same. I have always been thinking about natural birth, but at the end, I was having an emergency c-section.

So, for my second pregnancy, though I was still hoping for natural birth, I didn't really have a birth plan for it. I sort of like just go with the flow.

I didn't really have a birth plan when I was pregnant or when I gave birth. I organised my delivery and labour bag as well as my son's bag. But that was about it. And to think that I'm a bit OC but I've never really gotten as far as organising a plan the day that I give birth. I didn't even research about the possible things to do and just went with the days and the following days after I gave birth.

I could see the potential usefulness of a plan though. It can help you be calmer and more organised. At that time, we didn't really know what to do and how to proceed with fixing the birth certificate and the health insurance. So if you have a plan with you, it might be easier to keep track of these things.