Are Birth Plans Necessary? A recent conversation with a friend planning her second birth got me thinking about birth plans. For the sake of this article I’ll call them preferences, as is my preference. She was having a planned caesarean after a traumatic emergency cesarean with her first child. She was doing all she could to ensure that this experience was vastly different to the last. Another friend expecting a baby couldn’t see the value in writing birth preferences at all. She was keen to “go with the flow” because “no one knows what’s going to happen during the birth anyway”. Birth preferences for me have evolved since having my first bub nearly 4 years ago. (If you’re interested in my journey from private hospital birth to home birth read this). When I first wrote them they reflected only the logistics of what I would like to happen. Logistics like use of pain relief, where I would like to birth, who would cut the cord etc. By the time I was ready to birth my second baby I had changed. I was a qualified Hypnobirthing practitioner. Had educated myself comprehensively on the pregnancy, birthing and postnatal periods. I had up … Continue reading The Most Essential Item For Your Birth

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