You’ve heard the stories about birth plans going out the window, and maybe you’ve wondered, how can I create a strong plan or have a birth that doesn’t as easily get so far off track? Here are 3 things to avoid to help your birth plan stand strong so you can get the birth you want.

In this episode I discuss:

-Why you don’t need to change your birth plan to “preferences”

-The priorities of the hospital that go directly against your plan for an individualized birth

-How cute templates are a waste of time and the true focus and purpose of your birth plan

-The advocacy skills you need and how the cascade of interventions can easily sneak up on you

Summary

I know you have heard the stories about birth plans going out the window, and maybe you’ve wondered, how can I create a strong plan or have a birth that doesn’t as easily get so far of track. 

Maybe you have heard the advice of changing your birth plan to birth preferences and I am here to tell you that this is actually how so many birth plans get pushed aside. When you have a mindset of being flexible, the hospital (if you’re birthing in the hospital) loves to make it seem like you have options and they are supportive and sometimes they are to a point. But remember that their bottom line is being efficient, being profitable and staying our of law suits. They do not want to stick to a birth plan that goes against their policies. And this is why I recommend a birth education program that is OUTSIDE of the system and why Unmedicated Academy includes everything you need to know about real birth, physiology AND everything that you need to know about the hospital so you can navigate that medicalized setting and get the birth you want.

Okay. So let’s talk about 3 things that will sabotage the most well intentioned birth plan. 

1. The template

The template is the least important thing about your birth plan, yet I see so many moms spending a lot of time making their birth plan aesthetically pleasing. The birth plan is a tool. It’s main goal is a communication tool between you and your team. 

Think of a boss. A really good boss is not trying to be cute or friendly or convincing or even argumentative. A boss knows they have the final say and all they need to do is communicate what needs to be done in a calm manner and not take any crap. And guess what, you are the boss in your birth. You don’t need to people please or negotiate, you just need to go in there and tell everyone what to do. 

Which brings us to number 2…

2. Not practicing advocacy

This is especially true for the people pleasers and but also just all women. Once you’re in labor, it becomes more difficult to handle coercion or manipulation because you are more vulnerable, your logical thinking is off, you are primal. You shouldn’t HAVE to advocate for your birth plan, but if you are in the hospital you are going to have to. This is the back bone of what I teach my hospital birth moms inside my program. Without advocacy skills you may as well have just tossed your birth plan out the window yourself on the drive to the hospital. It is crucial to have a strong birth plan, but even more than that, you need to know your options, and know how to communicate that both before you are in labor and after. There is another episode on birth plans in the show notes for even more info on why you need a birth plan and the purpose it serves.

3. Agreeing to some interventions

There are two reasons this just wont do. First, you just lost a point in the power struggle. If they know they can sway you from your plans on one thing, they know what to do for the next thing that goes against their policies. And here is the real reason birth plans go out the window… agreeing to an intervention can cause a need for more interventions. It’s called the cascade of interventions and some famous TikTok OBs say it doesn’t exist, but moms everywhere have birth stories that perfectly illustrate how one small intervention caused a bump in the road big enough to change the entire course of their birth.

The best way to stay strong with the decisions you’ve made on your birth plan is to have the knowledge, know WHY you are choosing everything in your plan and how the hospital interventions can change your birth.

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More episodes you may like:

105 | Home births don’t need birth plans, hospital births need more than a birth plan

102 | 5 things my client did to go all in

103 | Technology in birth, the worst advancements in birth

Next Steps…

Have questions?

Birth Options Workshop: Get clarity on your next step, whether that is choosing a provider, deciding on a birth place or where to start with birth education. ⁠RSVP now.⁠

Ready to start your birth prep?

Birth Prep Class: This 30 minute class will teach you what you can do now to help prepare your mind and body for an unmedicated birth. ⁠It’s FREE⁠ 

Unmedicated Academy: The signature program for moms who want to be the boss of their unmedicated birth and be educated, informed and empowered. We will chat each week and you’ll be blown away by how much support is inside.⁠ Join the empowered mom club.

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