Forum : Pregnancy

vitamin k is to help babies blood clot - some babies are born with too little vitamin k and if they arent given the injection they are risk of haemoraging into the brain - although this is rare. it is best to let your baby have vitamin k injection. the midwives will do it soon after birth.

for your birth plan, u will need to just put your intentions for your birth so the hospital staff know what u want to happen. the best thing is to not be too rigid as u dont know what will happen during your labour and delivery. if it is the same as with my midwife, u wont actually have to write anything, the midwife will do it for you. if u look in you maternity notes, u should see a page for it.

u will need to have thought about things like:

whether your partner wants to cut the baby's cord
when the baby is born do u want it put directly on to your tummy or cleaned up before it is given to you
what pain relief would you like
what position u would like to deliver in
whether u want the cord cut straight away or wait until it stops pulsating
whether u want a natural delivery for the placenta (it can take up to an hour for the placenta to be delivered naturally) or whether u want to be given an injection to make it come out quicker

as i said above tho - be flexible. my labour was 3 days and i did all of it at home with just a tens machine and my partners arm to squeeze for pain relief! i arrived at hospital fully dilated and had some gas and air and thought that baby would arrive quite soon. my waters were broken and i started pushing. i was so pleased with myself because i didnt want to have an epidural and i had done it all on my own! but, 4 hours after i arrived at hospital, my daughter still hadnt been born. i was taken into theatre and given an epidural and had to have a forceps delivery because she was in a slightly awkward position. it just shows how what seems to be a straightforward birth can change so quickly.

good luck x

i never wroteone and ive been through two pregnancies now.the midwife at the hospital said if you go in with a concrete i want this this this it generally gets thrown out the window when it comes down to it.

have an idea of what you would like but be willing to be open cos you never know what could happen.you could be in labour for days or you could have our baby in tescos lol

forget about a birth plan!!!!

the only thing i suggest you planning on is who will be there, and which pain relief you will want, midwives very rarely read them anyway, mine paid no attention to it, its all a waste of time

plus you go in with no expectations, then you feel like you've had a good birth, if you make a plan and you end up getting none of it done at the time, you wont feel so dissappointed!!!!! xxx

Hi, I had to actually ASK my midwife about birth plans and she said they didn't advise having a set plan, which now I've had my baby I think is a good idea. You don't know how you are going to deal with labour and if any complications are to arise. Its best to be aware of all types on pain relief and what can go wrong(hopefully nothing!). I hadn't decided what pain relief I wanted but didn't really want an epidural, but once i was in labour and finally reached 3cm (after 39hours!) and was offered pain relief, I wanted an epidural as soon as possible! I don't rememvber being asked all the questions Chelle26 has put, but I was asked if my partner is cutting the cord. I wasn't asked when it was to be cut, or anything to do with the placenta. In fact, i didn't even know I'd delivered it! I assume the midwives just pulled the cord and it came out as I never had to push it out. Vitamin K is normally given by injection to your baby as soon as they are born. I don't remember them doing it so I think it is done really quickly. The main thing to remember is to keep an open mind, so have a rough idea of what you would like to happen but be prepared to be flexible at the time, and try to find out as much as you can about childbirth so you are as prepared as you can be.
Good luck! x

hi i am not bothering with a birth plan either. my husband is going with me and i am open minded about what pain relief i will go for, just play it by ear. my husband will decide if he wants to cut the cord at the time. thats it really.x!

if you have your notes at the back there is a birth plan to fill out.

Hey i asked my midwife about one and she said its just personal choice if you have
one or not...she said its easier to tell the midwifes present at the birth what you want
to happen..I guess each midwife has her own opinion lol
gd luck hun xxx

Hi

having just given birth a week ago, all I can say is keep an open mind and dont beat yourself up if it doesn't all go to plan.

I didnt have a plan as such, the only think that I made clear was that I wanted the baby skin to skin as soon as possible and the vitimin k injection for the above reasons.

In the end I had an emergency c section so the plan would have went out of the window anyway.

hope all goes well.

Hi,
im due in 1 week and I have written a birth plan based on the template on this site but its all very vague. I mean who knows what position they wanna be in while giving birth!?
I wrote 'the one that hurts the least of course!'
Ive kept it so open that theres not really much point in it. Things like I'd rather not have an epidural but i'd still like the opportunity to have one if i feel i need it.
Hopefully wont be long before i need it anyway,

Tash 39wks (& hopeing it comes sooner!) x

Just a point on Vitamin K - this is best given orally I believe.