Your Body, Your Baby, Your Birth { informed consent and creating birth preferences }

The birth of a child is a sacred, intimate experience. There is no disputing that fact. For every pregnant person, thoughts of labor and delivery are guaranteed. There is likely to be some uncertainty, fear, doubt, and curiosity in the minds of first-time mothers, and maybe even in repeat births. There is anticipation, there is excitement. Labor is the only blind date where you are sure you will be meeting the love of your life. Labor is incredible.

Labor is also unpredictable.

As much as one can study and prepare for the labor and delivery of their sweet baby, nothing is guaranteed. Rarely does a birth go absolutely perfectly, meeting every single expectation. It could be an incredibly fast labor, or a long, drawn out even that takes days. The OB you've seen your whole pregnancy could be out of town, you may go into labor while on vacation yourself, maybe there's a storm and you can't make it to the hospital. Labor can be tricky, but it's a good idea to set up some birth preferences in advance.

I use the term preferences, rather than 'plan', because as I just stated, labor is unpredictable. Having a set of preferences for how you envision your perfect birth is important, but those preferences need to be flexible as well. I encourage my clients to dream big, and put down what their heart truly desires for the best birth experience they can imagine. I also tell them to have a separate set of preferences labelled "emergency". Those cover the preferences if a true emergency arises and a cesarean is necessary, or an induction of labor is medically warranted. Planning and dreaming of your birth experience is a great thing, but always have back up plans just in case. Be prepared.

When forming your birth plan, it's important to research various aspects of labor and delivery. Depending on where you plan on delivering, parts of your birth plan will vary. It is important that you have a solid idea on important factors of labor, like being free to move about if you choose, pain management options, the type of monitoring you want, etc. Read up on your options, become informed on all procedures you wish to have done. Any consent you give during your labor and afterward should be done so only after you are sure you have all the information needed to make the best decision for yourself and your baby. There are several websites that can help structure a birth preference list to your liking. I provide a basic template for my clients, to show them how one should look. Here are some sources for creating a 'birth plan': 1   2   3   4

Effective birth preferences are typically no longer than one page, front and back. Color coding, bolding the most important options, and laminating your paper are all ways to effectively draw attention to your wishes. Be sure to check the policies at the hospital or birth center if you are delivering in one, to make sure your preferences are within reason. Also check your list with your care provider several weeks before delivery, and again during the last week or two of pregnancy. Having full support from your whole labor team and knowing you are giving informed consent is crucial to achieving an amazing birth.