Choosing how to give birth

[Scroccia]

I'm considering birth pool. This is my first pregnancy. What should I consider in choosing how to give birth?

Do your research and by all means plan to give birth in the environment -and with the support - that you think will best suit you. Think about whether you want to birth at home or in a hospital/ birthing centre, who you'd like present, what sort of pain relief you might be interested in and what you'd like to avoid if possible.

But keep an open mind. You can't really 'choose how to give birth'. You can only give yourself the best possible environment to do it in.

Don't make plans and choices, formulate preferences. That's my advice :)

I gave birth nine days ago. I agree with washnomore in that you can't really 'plan' or 'choose' how to give birth, but you can have preferences.

So much of birth depends on the day. For example, if you've been awake for days you may not have the energy for an 'active' birth. On the other hand, if you're well rested and the birth isn't complicated, you might surprise yourself with what you're capable of.

I was in the latter category. I was very 'open' to pain relief, but a great midwife and a calm partner saw me deliver naturally on gas & air. Not something I'd ever really dreamed of, but it just happened that way.

My advice would be - do plenty of research, then just roll with whatever happens on the day.

Do lots of research and be open-minded. I wanted a home water birth initially but then I developed OC and knew that was out. Ended up with EMCS after failed induction! Still used my birth plan though as I'd outlined everything that was important to me from my ideal of "I'd like to use the pool if possible" right down to info they would need to know if I had a CS.