Birth plans can be great if it all goes to plan but when your baby has other ideas on how to make their arrival into this world then you could be left feeling defeated, overwhelmed and even feeling like a failure.
Just remember safety comes first.
You may have the most amazing birth plan but the most important for you and your baby is to arrive into this world the safest way possible. If that means birth interventions, medications or making a trip into hospital for the delivery than so be it.
What you can control is the time with your baby postpartum.
I’m a big fan of postpartum plans because you are fully in control.
Minutes, hours, days and even weeks after the birth of your baby.
A postpartum plan can include:
- Discuss needs and wants for you and baby that are not necessities😉
- Cord clamping delay
- Skin to skin contact
- Feeding preferences
- Time spent in hospital
- Who can visit you in days and weeks ahead
- Support and guidance for you and baby
- Meals in hospital and at home. Snacks who wish to have or meals that support people can bring in.
- Sleep options ie co sleeping, bed sharing or baby in own room. Discuss pros and cons.
- Routine or going with the flow
Even things such as planning to go back, enjoying hobbies and sports that you wish to continue that can all be incorporated into a postpartum plan. You are able to control the time after the birth of your baby more than the birth itself. In fact you can include anything you wish into your plan.🥰
This is part of my support and guidance journey for moms with newborns. We start the postpartum planning around 36 weeks of pregnancy and keep updating and changing it when suits or when needed.
Engaging in a postpartum plan can eliminate common things like sleep deprivation, postnatal anxiety, colic and most of all postpartum depression.
Get in touch if you would like to learn more.
I would love to help you plan your postpartum time together.