The Birth Plan

Let's start at the beginning-- with the big "B"-- birth!

Like parenting, there aren't too many rules for pregnancy.
1. Don't smoke
2. Don't drink in the first two trimesters, and don't drink more than one glass of wine per day in the third.
3. Don't eat raw sushi or certain cheeses.
4. Go to your prenatal visits
5. Take care of yourself.
6. Don't exercise like you're training for a marathon, but do some sort of exercise-- walk around the block works.
7. Call your OB if there's something that's "just not right"
8. Take care of yourself.

Now that nine months are up, now what?

I think one of the biggest misconceptions about pregnancy is that you need to have a "birth plan." It's fine if you really want to have the right birthing ball, deliver naturally, in the water, with scented candles surrounding you. The only birth plan that's necessary is one in which you know which hospital you're going to when you're in labor (or if you're doing a home birth, if there's a problem), which doctor you're calling when you have a problem, and whether or not you are vehemently against an epidural.There's so much focus on "enjoying" the birth and making sure it's just right.

I got sucked into that logic.

That's right. With my first child, when I started contracting 4 days after my due date, I didn't think it was real labor. I mean, everything I read and knew was that "real labor" was contractions every three minutes and severe pain. Mine were every six minutes and just moderate pain. So I waited. When it turned into severe pain, I called. They told me to come in. Within three minutes of settling in to the cushy hospital I had chosen to have a baby, DVDs coming out of my bag, I was being whisked to have a csection because my son's heart rate had dropped dangerously low. Turns out I waited around at home too long. I didn't trust my instincts, and they had to get him out...NOW. We were very lucky. They got my epidural in lickety split and he was out within five minutes, with a glorious cry. My birth plan had gone to crap. But I had a healthy little guy.

And that's all that mattered.