and getting what you want. By considering each issue in a Birth Plan, it helps the mother educate herself and intellectually prepares her for the birth. Secondly, it informs everyone else involved that you have in fact done this, and that you are not approaching the event in ignorance or ambivalence. This way, your well considered wishes are more likely to be respected or thoughtfully discussed if need be. Just these two factors alone, can make a substantial difference to the quality of your experience on the day.
   The actual plan you make up and give to your care givers aims to convey two things. Firstly, it should simply and clearly state your aims and desires for the general tone of the birth, and secondly it should list your specific preferences either for or against the many different medical options which can arise during labour and birth. Of course, the actual outcome will depend on how things go on the day. You may decide to change your mind depending on circumstances, or there may be an obligation by medical staff to override your wishes. Therefore a Birth Plan can really only be an advisory document, rather than a compelling one. Whilst signing and dating a Birth Plan is not a legally binding instruction to your birth attendants, in the event of any matters being contested after the birth, a Birth Plan is a clear indication of the woman’s position. To override her wishes, any practitioner has to provide valid medical evidence that their conduct or any procedure performed contrary to the Birth Plan was fully justified.
   A Birth Plan can be short or long, general or detailed, depending on factors such as venue, support people, your health, your expectations, and most of all your wishes for the way in which you’d like to see things unfold. But I consider a maximum of one single-sided page is best, so that it is quick and easy to assimilate for the many people who may be reading it. Once you have submitted it to the relevant people, all staff attending your labour are supposed to read this plan and be aware of your wishes. Nevertheless, it still helps if one of your support people has a copy of it on hand (and in their mind) to guide the proceedings as you would wish.
   Some might say – “But what does it really matter? Why all this angst, this birth planning, this having it your own way? It’s only a few examinations, a bit of monitoring, a little inconvenience for half a day or so. And besides, the doctors and the hospital all know exactly what they are doing. They don’t need to be told what to do by the woman”. And theoretically it may appear that way to those who have

not been through it, or those who have decided to accept all the “assistance” medical science can bestow. Not surprisingly, this is the predominant attitude carried by many women (and men) before their first birthing experience, since they are rarely told many of the uncomfortable truths about childbirth beforehand.
   But it does matter on the day, and for many women it matters long after the day. What is expected to be only numerous small physical, emotional or mental annoyances, can all accumulate to create a deeply disturbing event, instead of a unique and very special one. So many women come out of the former situation vowing that never again will they submit themselves to such indignities, intrusions and distortions of their dreams and realities. Having a Birth Plan can ensure against many of these unsatisfying outcomes, and can steer you closer to your ideal of the best possible birthing experience

	~Making a Birth Plan~

   The following is a list of all the areas in which there are options and choices to be made. Work through each of these issues in your own head first; if you need to, discuss them with your relevant support people such as partners, doulas, midwives, doctors; and then summarise your final preferences on a copy of the blank “Birth Plan” provided in the Appendix on page 576. When finished, photocopy 5 - 6 copies: (1 & 2) a copy each for your private physician and / or midwife (if you have one) sometime during the last trimester; (3) one to hand in at the time of hospital check-in; (4) one for labour room staff (in case the one from the check-in doesn’t get there); (5) one for the post-natal ward staff (in case your labour ward copy gets lost in the mean time); (6) one for your main support assistant to keep as a reminder on the day for yourself and them.

Previous Birthing Experience
   A brief history of your past births. The number, the years, and any unusual past birthing events which may be of importance this time round. This is particularly important for VBAC. Your previous model of care, style of birthing.

Statement of Birthing Philosophy and Intention
   Your ideal of how you’d like this birth to go, your philosophy of giving birth and how you would like to attain that. The mood, the environment you would like around the occasion.