Do you not make a birth plan when you are pregnant with your second?

[Maydream]

Currently 31 weeks pregnant with my second baby and nobody has mentioned anything about a birth plan. Last time around, I was 27/28 weeks when I filled the forms in.

Obviously, I know that things don't always go the way you want them to, and I didn't go into too much detail last time (mainly just put see at the time for most things) around as I'm aware that there are a lot of things that can change.

However, last time I ended up having a water birth. This was purely coincidental, as the pool room was the only room available at the time. I was sceptical at first, but I loved the experience and it definitely helped with the pain.

Ideally, I would like to specify that I would like a water birth this time around if it is possible to do so. How would I go about this if it turns out that I don't end up making a birth plan?

Thanks

I didn't have one for my first because I (stupidly) trusted the mws and everyone said "Hahahahahaha! Not worth the paper they're written on! Midwives and doctors don't look at them." And other dismissive comments. As it turned out my first birth experience was rubbish. I had to make lots of complicated decisions in the throes of labour, Dh was scared, I hadn't thought about things at all.

For my second I realised that a birth plan is not supposed to be a shopping list of the perfect birth and good midwives aren't laughing at you for writing one. It's a chance for you to think about all the things that might happen and think about how you might deal with the eventualities. Obviously things change and there are things out with your control but that doesn't mean it's stupid to think about the birth. Good midwives realise that feeling as though you have a say in the most important thing you'll ever do is probably a good idea. Confidence in yourself and your partner is really important. The conversations I had with Dh when writing it meant I knew he was my advocate and he knew what I'd want. The piece of paper itself isn't important but the thought process is imo.

Good luck! I hope it all goes well.

Joskar said it really well.

I don't bother with them after my first.

However if you want to do one just little bullet points of things.

• delayed cord clamping
• yes/no to vit K for baby
Etc

I did. It said:
No AROM
No episiotomy
Do not offer me pain relief
I will birth a breech baby vaginally
(NB I know that in an emergency all bets are off)

Thanks all! I do have a few other preferences with regards to Vitamin K, delayed cord claiming etc.

I'll just note them down and keep them with my pregnancy notes. At least they're there for the midwife to look at if all goes well.

With my first, I didn't specify much on the birth plan at all (just thought I'd wing it). It a bit of a nightmare listening to and answering all of the questions the midwife was asking me whilst I was l trying to breathe through contractions. If I have a few preferences written down this time around, I thought it would make things a little easier.

My DS's delivery didn't quite go to plan anyway. I ended up having to get out of the pool to be catheterised, then there was a mad rush to get back in the pool as DS was on his way, and as soon as I got back into the pool my waters broke and there was a significant amount of meconium. So I ended up being rushed out of the pool again and giving birth on the bed... It was all going smoothly until the last 5 minutes! Haha

I didn't do one either time, not anything written down anyway.

I just told them when I arrived that I didn't want an epidural, or pethidine or anything like that.

I think with the pool, you can just ask if the pool is available when you arrive, and if it is, great, and if it isn't that's a shame. Surely it is a case of first come first served with things like that, given that they don't know precisely when you are actually going to turn up in labour? I doubt they leave the pool empty on the offchance that someone who has written it on their birthplan (a) goes into labour that day and (b) still wants and is able to use the pool when they come in.

I did them with both of mine, but it was just a page at the back of the book that was blanked lined ready for it.

Dc1 - ill use pain relief as and if needed, vit k yes, students yes, injection for placenta, dh to tell me the sex and explain EVERYTHING to both me and my husband.

Dc2 - no syntocin, do not ask me to lie down on the bed apart from examinations which should be minimal, waterbirth if avail, injection for placenta, vit k yes, students yes (she was worth her weight in gold!!!)

I just wrote my own on A4 paper. About 8 one sentence bullet points. My midwife didn't mention it.

One of my points said don't touch me (but more politely!) and after the midwife said she was really glad I wrote that as she is normally very strokey and patty! I basically didn't see her until the last 20 minutes. She walked in the room and read my birth plan immediately.

I am planning on using the same one for this pregnancy.

I wrote: give me a bed, a midwife and a constant supply of gas & air, I plan to give birth. I figured pretty much everything else would be decided by circumstances in the delivery suite. (And I hoped to make the midwife smile at least,)

I didn't have one for any of my 4. I did brief DH just in case I couldn't speak for myself but that was it really.