Be a Better You.
Beauty, Health, Pregnancy, Fitness, Well-Being
|
10/6/2017 1 Comment So, you have a birth plan...By Katie You are preparing to have your sweet new addition. You have prepared the nursery, researched diapers, car seats, and breastfeeding, probably have an app (or two) reminding you of how your baby has grown, comparing your baby each week to a fruit or vegetable… and reminding you of all the things you need to do before the big day. Now, you've reached “make a birth plan” on the to do list.
Before I go any further there are 2 things you need to know about birth plans that seem to confuse people: 1. Birth plans are not required. You don't have to print one off the internet that says a bunch of things you don't actually care about just because you think you need to turn one in. Birth is not a school assignment. Turns out, it'll happen whether or not you have a plan. 2. Birth plans are not contracts. They are a list of preferences that may or may not happen (see below). Ok, now that we've cleared that up, we can move on to why I am really writing this.... I am an OB and I am here to tell you why you need to get over your birth plan. Before you get all huffy, I want you to know that I am not against “natural birth” or even a birth plan for that matter… and I don’t care if you have an epidural, want to sit, stand, bounce, walk, who cuts the cord (or when it's cut), or if you want to bring your own pillow. In fact, if it means you are delivering in a safe environment rather than at home where you can do nothing in an emergency situation, I will do everything I can to make your experience as ideal as possible. I would love a vaginal delivery for everyone, although that is not possible. If that were the case, “died in childbirth” would not have ever been a thing. Unfortunately, even in these times, it is still very much a thing. In fact, it may have happened to the woman in the room next door to you. And you should know that every loss is taken personally by the doctors and nurses involved. What I do care about, is when things don’t go as you had planned (and by the way, they often don’t), you act as though the doctor/nurse/hospital wronged you on purpose. No one I work with would ever want that for a patient. We want your experience to be that magical moment you have dreamed of. What I want you to understand is that sometimes your requests are not possible. It cannot cause your (or other’s) care to be unsafe. We have to be prepared for the emergencies that can happen. That usually means an IV (not necessarily fluids), taking vital signs periodically, getting heart tones periodically, and sometimes that means more intervention. No matter how “low risk” you are, you can still have a catastrophic outcome (see postpartum hemorrhage, shoulder dystocia, prolapsed umbilical cord, chorioamnionitis, breech/transverse/face presentation). So much can go wrong in childbirth. Why would you risk your life or your baby’s life just because it is not what you planned or pictured? As obstetricians, we go through 4 years of college, 4 years of medical school, and 4 years of residency. We do hundreds upon hundreds of deliveries. We have seen babies die. We have seen moms die. The reason we keep going is because of the lives we can save. Please do not put your internet search or opinions from friends (or strangers) above our training. Go ahead and make your birth plan, but please make your ultimate goal “a healthy baby and healthy mom.” That is my goal every day that I work on Labor and Delivery. Ultimately, it is what matters most, and it definitely isn’t guaranteed.
1 Comment
Martha Daniels
10/6/2017 09:34:05 pm
Thank you for writing this article. Without my Doctors and nurses I would have lost both of my daughters. I wanted to say you pick your doctor for a reason. Please trust their judjement if things unforseen happen. Doctors and nurses just want a healthy baby and mom.
Reply
Leave a Reply. |