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REAL BIRTH PLANS FOR REAL WOMEN
"If you don't know your options, you don't have any." ~ Roberta Scaer, Co-Author of A Good Birth, A Safe Birth
Did you know that not all women dilate one centimeter every hour upon entering active labor? It's true and in the case of first time mothers the Friedman's curve should not be applied at all! Dr. Ronald Cyr's paper on Medscape notes the outdating of ~ and misapplication of ~ this medical observation. This is important for you to know because mothers are sometimes given pitocin (and epidural together) and/or cesareans due to "failure to progress." If you're a first time mom it is essential that you don't let yourself be put on the labor clock!
Learn about protocols for birth management in place in America and around the world. Be educated on recognizing outdated protocols and protocols for the convenience of your careprovider because they do exist and they can turn your healthy, low-risk pregnancy into a cesarean you didn't expect!
Got options? Learn about them in an independent childbirth education class then write your REAL birth plan!!
INDUCTION
Although many of us in the birth world know about the dangers of Cytotec, Ina May Gaskin's Current Report on Cytotec (Misoprostol),the information regarding everyday women's horrible experiences with this drug is slow to reach the public www.tatia.org. You can read Tatia's story ~ the foundation's beginnings ~ as it appeared in the news here. Additionally, while pitocin was once held as safe and with few risks we now know that it is currently used outside of the historical protocols (may require registration) and may no longer be as gentle as it once was.
Inductions also raise the odds of subsequent cesarean surgery. Surgical births themselves carry not only the same risks as any other surgery but can also cause future health problems in your next pregnancy and over your lifetime. Some routine interventions may restrict you use of many laboring and coping techniques that would otherwise allow you to birth a baby that might be considered large by some careproviders.
Induction is routinely advised for a number of reasons including going past your 40-week due date. While 41 weeks is a benchmark for human gestation and newborn comparisons for research some careproviders may rush to induce earlier than or exactly at 41 weeks. Inductions are very common in spite of the evidence showing that they increase the odds of interventions and ultimately cesareans.
An independent childbirth educator will educate you regarding induction options as well as provide you with the resources to have an informed dialogue with your careprovider.
YOUR BABY
How you labor can drastically change your envisioned moment of birth! Your independent childbirth education class will teach you how some routine birth interventions affect your baby's care at birth. You will learn about your baby's life in your womb, during labor, the first minutes, hours and days in your arms.
Learn how to advocate for your baby whether you feel you are receiving too many ultrasounds or ultrasounds that are not necessary, newborn procedures including the very real benefits of delayed cord clamping, PKU, eye ointments and vaccinations or need to make an informed decision regarding medical circumcision.
VAGINAL BIRTH AFTER CESAREAN (VBAC)
VBAC Online, is a database that includes current information on VBAC 'policies' across the country visit. We recommend that you also read Silent Knife a rebuttal to the VBAC climate, what drove it and taking action by reinforcing women's rights to access information for informed consent.
An independent childbirth education class will provide you with the background to your local VBAC options including how to best advocate for yourself and a VBAC if you've been denied one.
INDEPENDENT CHILDBIRTH EDUCATOR OR DOULA?
Help your doula help you! A doula will not make your choices for you nor should she. Take an independent childbirth education class. Get your facts and make your informed choices. Learn how to advocate for yourself. Your doula supports you best when you are clear that you are making your decisions independently of your doula. Then your doula can focus on supporting you and your choices leaving a careprovider with less fears that your decisions are not your own.
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