"birth plan"

[Lesh2]

I had my first hospital tour yesterday and the midwife talked about starting to get our "bith plan" ready, I have my booking in apt on Wed and need to go through this with them but they showed us the bath that can be used in labour, is anyone else looking at having the water in their birth plan - I have heard mixed reactions about it slowing down the labour - and quite frankly, I want to speed it as much as possible (as I'm sure we all do!)!

Ive started yoga stretches and practicsing positions to get the pelvis open as far as possible (with more focus from 36weeks) and was told to start the pelvic floor excercises now - im hopeless with them but is it too early to do these yet??

[Beach Mama]

Hi Lesh, Not sure how many weeks you are but its never too early to do pelvic floor exercises, they can help prevent incontinence after birth and help the perinium (sp?) stay intact during labour. Its good to do them while you are doing something else to remind yourself, for example in the car etc.

As for the bath, as long as you are in established labour it shouldnt slow your labour down. I was in the bath for about 2 hours during my labour with Isabelle and if I could have I would have stayed in for the whole labour!! It was great to float and relax in between contactions. Other people dont like it though so it jsut depends on the person. Im a water girl though and love baths and swimming, I thought Id love the shower too but didnt at the time.

Good luck and hope this helps.

[~Belinda~]

Hi Lesh

I think it's important to have a plan but I have the attitude that it won't necessarily be the "be all end all" of the actual time Bub is ready to enter the world. I want to avoid disappointment and just keep an open mind. I am opting for a natural birth and want to avoid a c-section. However, if the baby is distressed and I need a c-section, then so be it. After all, you can't predict what is going to happen but you can certainly have a few things jotted down that you prefer.

Enjoy your pregnancy, wishing you a healthy and happy one.

Bindy xx

[*Ali*]

I thought I would love floating around in the bath while I was in Labour, and I got in there and I hated it, couldnt relax and quite frankly I couldnt wait to get out ( I think I lasted about 20 mins) but I think the main thing to keep in mind while writing your birth plan is to put down anything you think might help, so if you think the bath might help then I would certainly add it into my plan. If you find something isnt working for you then you dont have to stick with it, you can give something else ago.
So when writing your plan add in as many things as you think might help, so that if one thing doesnt work you can go on and try something else.
In the end when I ws in Labour with DD I had a bean bag up on the bed, with the bed head tilted up and I just laid over the top of it for ages, and I think that was the most comfortable thing I found. Doesnt mean it is the only thing I will try this time, but it will definatley be on the list.