Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Our Birth Plan

It may come as no surprise that I'm planning on an unmedicated natural birth with as few (hopefully none!) interventions as possible. I'm in no way naive and do realize that there are reasons that this may not go my way. But, I refuse to focus on those possibilities and instead spend my energy on educating myself and reading, listening, and absorbing positive birth stories.

There is a great post on Dear Baby about the topic. It's worth reading even if you're not pregnant and making decisions about a birth plan, especially for woman. It's important that we try to educate ourselves and initiate meaningful conversations. There are also some great links if you're looking to do some research on the topic.

My close friend, Kim, also decided on an unmedicated birth with her third baby, Caroline. Although it started out as a financial decision, in the end she realized it was more than that.

A home birth was a little bit too much for Jim and I to handle our first time around and the only birth center near us is about 45 minutes away and difficult to get a slot in. So we decided to stick with my obstetrician and delivery at the hospital, which is about 2 miles from our house. To support our goal of a natural birth we did some research and decided to use the Bradley method. It's a husband/partner based coaching method focused on relaxation and embracing the birthing process. We just finished up a great course with two doulas in our area and both agreed that we feel so much more prepared and educated on the labor and delivery process, what to expect, and how to handle different situations that may come up.

The website allows you to search for classes in your area. If there are no courses offered in your area I would recommend at least reading Dr. Bradley's book, Husband Coached Childbirth: The Bradley Method of Natural Childbirth.

I also recommend Ina May's Guide to Childbirth. Ina May is a world famous and extremely respected midwife and founder of the The Farm Midwifery Center in Tennessee. The Farm has a cesarean rate of less than 2%. The US national cesarean rate is over 30%...

Until it's time for Baby Robinson to arrive, I'm focused on keeping me and baby happy & healthy through good nutrition, exercise, and a positive environment.

"Your body is not a lemon. You are not a machine. The Creator is not a careless mechanic."
~Ina May Gaskin

4 comments:

Sue Galeone said...

I have a friend in Portland who is planning a home birth and who has a very naturalistic approach to life. You guys might be interested in each others' blogs. I'll send her your link and here is hers:
bonbonmakesababy.tumblr.com

Sue Galeone said...

I have a friend in Portland who is planning a home birth and has a very naturalistic way of things. You might be interested in each others' blogs. I'll send her a link to your site. Hers is: bonbonmakesababy.tumblr.com

Liz said...

I have to give a thumbs up to Jim! My husband asked me if he could wait in the waiting room and pass out cigars while I give birth...I dont think so!! LOL Hope all goes well with you guys and little baby Robinson!

Kim said...

Thanks for the shout out rachelle. Sending positive labor/ delivery vibes your way. It will be amazing.