can you not make a birth plan anymore?

[thecatsarecrazy]

I last had a baby over 7 years ago so a lot has probably changed. I picked up a book from my g.p surgery to take to my midwife. It asked for details of previous children, medical history etc but last time I filled one out it asked for birth preferences. Like I would like to check sex of baby, or if available I would like a water birth but there's no page for this. Is that normal now? I see midwife on Thursday for the first time.

I'm nearly 27 weeks and assume this is something you're asked a lot later in pregnancy - although you should probably say early on if you want a home birth. There's a page on the NHS website with questions to enable you to put together a birth plan. Sorry I don't have the link to hand.

Round here it's done at about 36 weeks. You'll get plenty of chance to do one OP, just a bit further down the line.

I have a page in the back of my maternity folder that I need to complete which counts as my birth plan. Though they never mentioned it was there until wk 32 and I never noticed it before that.

There's a page in my personal maternity record titled "your preferences for your baby's birth".
It's got some suggestions for questions I might like to think about, space to write about my birth plan or preferences, and says I can attach my own birth plan to the page if I have one.

It's page 16 in my booklet but no idea if the same format of booklet is used in all areas.

Hi!

It's not necessary to do one, but if you do then the midwives will know your preference for things and won't bother you so much when you're in labour! There was a page in my maternity notes with a few questions on it but nothing major. I would look at the list on the nhs website - there's a lot of questions on there but just pick which ones are relevant and make your own question and answers list to print off. The midwives used mine and never had to ask me once what i needed or what my preferences were, so i guess it worked well!

www.nhs.uk/conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/pages/birth-plan.aspx

Good luck!

I used the nhs print off copy linked to above. Your midwife can talk it through with you from 36 weeks if you ask. If you go into preterm labour (before 37 weeks) the potential risks to the baby would outweigh most birth plan choices so not something you need to think about until later on really. This sort of thing is not in the pregnancy notes, which I assume is what you're referring to in op.

I had an appt with a consultant at 30 weeks where she asked me my preferences and wrote them in my notes. You can attach something yourself if you already know what you want.

Ok thanks for your help. I don't have many preferences.