Some of you have asked for this. Yes we did put together a "don't touch me" birth plan in case I needed to go to the hospital. Here it is:
No medical procedure will be allowed without my prior consent, or in the event of my incapacity, my partner’s.
No medications. This excludes none and specifically includes oxytocics, analgesics, barbiturates and tranquillizers.
No intravenous fluids.
No vaginal examinations and no artificial rupture of membranes. No stretch & sweeps either.
There will be no episiotomy.
There will be no routine fetal monitoring, either internal or external.
- Frequent listening to the fetal heart is expected. A Doppler may be used if desired. If there is medical indication for continuous monitoring, eg CTG, I may consent to a brief period of monitoring provided I am able to choose a position. The monitor is to be removed after a reasonable trace is obtained (absolutely not more than 30 minutes without exception).
I am not to be offered pain relief. I am already aware of my options.
I will not be arbitrarily confined to bed during labor. If the birth is happening away from the bed, say in the shower, I do not wish to be moved from this position.
The cord will not be clamped or cut until the placenta has been birthed and the cord has stopped pulsating however long that takes.
The third stage of labor will be physiological, not managed. The use of oxytocic drugs and manual removal of the placenta is to be reserved for true medical emergencies.
The baby is not to be given vitamin K or Hepatitis B injections. Do not carry out any procedures or treatments on my baby without first obtaining permission. This includes cutting my baby’s umbilical cord, bathing my baby, giving my baby glucose water, formula, testing PKU, etc.
The baby is not to be taken out of the parents’ sight. Either the mother or father must always be present.
In the unlikely event, I prefer ventouse to forceps but these will only be employed after full discussion with the parents and consent from the mother and no episiotomy. I want to push my baby out while the ventouse applies constant pressure but is not used to pull the baby out.
Do not speak to me during contractions or when I appear to be concentrating on my labor. Questions may be addressed to my Partner if urgent and only away from my hearing.
The parents will be the first to touch the baby's head. The father or myself will catch the baby.
There will be no students, hospital house staff, or other non-essential personnel in the room during labor and birth.
The room will be warm and the lights dimmed. Excessive noise will be avoided and people present at the moment of birth will speak very softly so as to avoid startling the baby.
The baby will be placed straight on the mother's abdomen. A blanket will cover the baby and mother. The baby may be breastfed within minutes of birth and will not be wiped or cleaned in any way.
Apgar and well baby checks will only be done by observation while the baby is on the mother. Weighing and measuring are only to be done if the parents request it and much later after the birth.
In the event our baby is unwell:
Any procedures must be explained in full and informed, written consent must be obtained before any intervention is performed.
A parent will remain with the baby at all times - no exceptions.
The baby will only be fed breast milk. Absolutely no formula.
Even if our baby is premature, there will be no period in the nursery. Rooming in will be immediate and continuous unless there is a genuine problem with the baby and informed, written consent is obtained from the parents for treatment of the baby.
Thank you for reading this and working with us to respect our wishes.
My Road from OB to Unassisted Childbirth
My first pregnancy began as most do, in search of an OB. I found one that came highly recommended. After several visits I learned that the doctor I was seeing would probably not be the one that would deliver my baby, unless he was on-call that night. I began to feel detached from my pregnancy, trusting only on the doctor’s say that things were fine. I started to research my childbirth options. I knew that I didn’t want to use any drugs. At 32 weeks I mentioned this decision to my doctor and he said, “Oh honey, you’ll see”. Well, that didn’t sit well with me so I went out and found a wonderful CNM. She was much more supportive of my choices. My son was born in a hospital without any complications or drugs. As far as hospital births go it was about as good as it gets. However, it still didn’t feel right to me. In the hospital there is such a state of panic at every turn of labor. I knew that what was happening was the natural progression but it was very difficult to stay focused with all of the hysteria I was surrounded by. The nurses treated my son as thought he were hospital property. When I voiced my insistence to go home they told me that I could leave but the baby would have to stay. We were both healthy but were forced to stay.
When we were planning our second pregnancy I knew that I wanted a homebirth so I found a local midwife that I liked. I wanted her to be as hands off as possible so I began to educate myself with every bit of childbirth knowledge I could find. A good friend of mine told me about Laura Shanley’s site unassistedchildbirth.com and immediately I knew that this is what felt right to me. It took me a couple of months to bring it up to my husband. I was afraid that he would think it was crazy but he was surprisingly supportive as was our midwife. I studied midwifery textbooks and became comfortable with all of the possible complications. I was in charge and responsible for this pregnancy and it was wonderful. I did all of my own prenatal assessments and took very good care of myself. When I had a concern or fear I studied it until I was completely comfortable and prepared. I had the appropriate herbs on hand for managing complications as well as a cheat sheet for my husband. Unlike my previous pregnancy, I was not blindly taking someone else’s word that everything was alright. I was not stressed; my mind was at ease because I knew that my body was made to do this.
My labor started gradually with several weeks of pre-labor. Feeling over due I decided we needed to do something to speed things up so we went for a good long walk. The contractions continued but without a pattern all day. I rested as much as possible. At about 10:30pm I realized that they were actually strengthening and seemed to have some pattern. I ran a bath, dimmed the lights and turned on some music. I was able to just breathe deep through most of it. I knew it would bee soon so I called my husband in. I remember thinking, wow I made it through transition and it really wasn’t that bad. I kneeled in the tub and had a really strong contraction when the water broke. My body completely took over. Two involuntary pushes and her head was out, two more and I was pulling her out of the water. It was about 3 hours of active labor and 5-10 minutes from the time my water broke until she was born. She was breathing right away. She didn’t cry for several hours but her color was good and she was alert. When my husband came in with our son he said, “Well, what is it?” I hadn’t even thought to check. We were all so excited to have a happy healthy little girl. She nursed immediately. The placenta came less than five minutes later. We left it attached for about two hours before daddy cut the cord. Our experience with unassisted childbirth has brought my family together with an intimate bond that I never could have imagined. I don’t know why something so natural as childbirth has become so feared that our society must manage it in the way that it does. What I do know is that as women we were designed to do this. Fear is the greatest enemy of the laboring woman. Belief in ourselves and trust in our bodies is the key to a successful birth wherever it takes place.
Thank You Katie! for a lifetime of loving friendship and for your gentile guidance.
(Please note any information provided is NOT to be construed as professional medical advice. This is my personal story provided for informational purposes only.
When we were planning our second pregnancy I knew that I wanted a homebirth so I found a local midwife that I liked. I wanted her to be as hands off as possible so I began to educate myself with every bit of childbirth knowledge I could find. A good friend of mine told me about Laura Shanley’s site unassistedchildbirth.com and immediately I knew that this is what felt right to me. It took me a couple of months to bring it up to my husband. I was afraid that he would think it was crazy but he was surprisingly supportive as was our midwife. I studied midwifery textbooks and became comfortable with all of the possible complications. I was in charge and responsible for this pregnancy and it was wonderful. I did all of my own prenatal assessments and took very good care of myself. When I had a concern or fear I studied it until I was completely comfortable and prepared. I had the appropriate herbs on hand for managing complications as well as a cheat sheet for my husband. Unlike my previous pregnancy, I was not blindly taking someone else’s word that everything was alright. I was not stressed; my mind was at ease because I knew that my body was made to do this.
My labor started gradually with several weeks of pre-labor. Feeling over due I decided we needed to do something to speed things up so we went for a good long walk. The contractions continued but without a pattern all day. I rested as much as possible. At about 10:30pm I realized that they were actually strengthening and seemed to have some pattern. I ran a bath, dimmed the lights and turned on some music. I was able to just breathe deep through most of it. I knew it would bee soon so I called my husband in. I remember thinking, wow I made it through transition and it really wasn’t that bad. I kneeled in the tub and had a really strong contraction when the water broke. My body completely took over. Two involuntary pushes and her head was out, two more and I was pulling her out of the water. It was about 3 hours of active labor and 5-10 minutes from the time my water broke until she was born. She was breathing right away. She didn’t cry for several hours but her color was good and she was alert. When my husband came in with our son he said, “Well, what is it?” I hadn’t even thought to check. We were all so excited to have a happy healthy little girl. She nursed immediately. The placenta came less than five minutes later. We left it attached for about two hours before daddy cut the cord. Our experience with unassisted childbirth has brought my family together with an intimate bond that I never could have imagined. I don’t know why something so natural as childbirth has become so feared that our society must manage it in the way that it does. What I do know is that as women we were designed to do this. Fear is the greatest enemy of the laboring woman. Belief in ourselves and trust in our bodies is the key to a successful birth wherever it takes place.
Thank You Katie! for a lifetime of loving friendship and for your gentile guidance.
(Please note any information provided is NOT to be construed as professional medical advice. This is my personal story provided for informational purposes only.
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