You are pregnant, check. Now what? Oh boy! A birth plan?

Hold that thought. Because let’s be real, things never really go according to plan, now do they? 

What do we do instead of making a plan and being stressed about it falling apart?

Deep breath in, ahhh, and out. It will be okay. Yes, you may have been encouraged to create a birth plan the moment you were told you’re pregnant. 

Rather than creating a plan that’s likely to change, how about I help you create your birth intentions and values, which won’t change? 

These will help pave the way for you to communicate your wants and values to your healthcare and birth support teams before the birthday arrives. 

You have a vision of how you intend to welcome your wee one into this world. That’s why we have our tips on how to form your birth intentions and values below. 

What are Birth Intentions and Values? What Do These Mean?

Your birth intentions are a record of what you would and would not like to happen during the birth of your child. Rather than forming a plan that can go wrong (like New Year’s resolutions…), your intentions give you a much more powerful “voice” for YOUR body and YOUR say in the decisions made. These intentions and values can also support those of whom you would like included in your birth and postpartum. They play a great advocacy role if you have trouble speaking for yourself.  

The advantage of making your birth intentions and values clear is that it will help you prepare for having your baby. Really taking the time to sit and make a record of these values and intentions will help you focus and bring attention to what is important to YOU, as well as begin conversations between you and your support team and care provider. 

Bear in mind, it’s very possible your intentions may change over the course of your pregnancy, and it’s totally okay to change your mind about what you would like to happen during birth. Some values, however, are worth sticking to from the get-go and making sure they stick from day one.

When Should I Form My Birth Intentions and How Do I Get Started?

There is no timeline for when you should have your birth intentions made. That being said, don’t leave it until once labour starts, because you will not be in the best mindset then. 

Talk to your care provider and doula (if you decide to have one) about their experience. There may be values of theirs that align with yours and are worth including in your record, such as factors due to any specific conditions. 

Some parents have had an idea of how they would like their labour to go since long before becoming pregnant. This can be helpful in that they have done their research of what their options are, but there is no pressure to have your intentions laid out that far in advance. 

Write your intentions down, highlighting what is important for you. Start by handwriting a rough draft and once you feel confident in your needs and values being clearly communicated, create a digital copy, and make a few copies, for everyone in your birth support team, and ensure your care provider includes this in their notes for you. 

You can also start by reading these suggestions below, if you’re super new to this idea or if you’re ever stuck.

What Could My Birth Intentions Include?

• Your Support. Who would you most wish to be your support team? Your partner, parent(s), best friend, and/or doula and how they can each support you. 
• Who would you prefer out of your support to stay in the waiting room? Your doula and hospital staff can help in protecting your space to keep it at peace for you. Speaking to them in advance about who is and is not welcome in your birthing space helps to not interrupt the flow of chaos during birth. 
• How your midwife, doula, and other healthcare providers support your family in order to support you. You will have lots of meetings before the birth, where you can discuss what will make things go smoothly for you. Talk about things such as making your space comfortable, like bringing your favorite music, pictures of memories or quotes to create a homey space in your room. There’s never a bad time to ask for ideas of how to ease your nerves before birth. 
• Where you would prefer to have your baby. If you are hard-set on a home birth, make it loud and clear. Find out what is needed during and prepare (as best you can) enough time ahead. Make sure you have a good rapport with your midwife and doula (if you are having one of these, or both) so your needs are clear and met. If you decide on a hospital birth, find out what that will look like and meet your potential birth team as far ahead as you can. 
• Notes/requests during labour. Find out pain relief options so you know what options are available to you and what your preference is. If you know a shower would help with the pain, then make this clear. 
• Notes/requests after the baby is born. For example, how you would prefer skin-to-skin contact with your newborn, or how you would like to feed your baby; if breast/chest feeding or body feeding, make known your preferences on how you would like to tackle it.
• Newborn care requests. For example, your baby staying with you and not being separated (unless medically necessary). Going back to the breast/chest feeding, make sure that if you are going that route, to include your intentions of your baby receiving nothing but your breast milk by mouth unless you give specific permission (for formula, sugar solution, etc.), as offering anything other than breast milk can interfere with their natural hunger and desire to focus on wanting your colostrum or breast milk. 
• The unexpected. If any complications happen, such as needing an emergency c-section, then your intention can include requesting a support person (your partner for example) to always stay with you during any pre-op procedures/spinal insertion. Another example can be making sure you have one arm free to hold or touch your baby after delivery. 

Birth intentions are also about coming up with conditions of excellence. These are words to intend how you want to feel. Peaceful, Surrender, and Brave—these sorts of words, 2-3 of them, will do. This is the overall feel of it. 

For example, my intentions would be Trust, Supported, and Connected. This way, if you plan on a home birth and you land in a C-section, did the person feel trust in the process, decisions, careteam, knowledge base, etc.? Did they feel like they made the best choice bravely and they did not allow fear to impact their choices? Do they feel that they surrendered to the process, to their body, etc.?  

I ask guiding questions. For example:

Q: What is important to you about birth?
A: Healthy Baby.
Q: What does it mean to you to have a healthy baby? Answer. Either tell me more, or what does it mean, etc. I ask this 2-3 times until I come to something like this. It’s extremely important to me that I feel informed, safe, supported and connected to my baby.

Ways that values are not met is when a person “goes with the flow”  and the flow lands them from a home birth to a C-section and they cannot tell you why, or they feel they failed their plan, or failed themselves. It’s the difference between remaining in control and going with the flow. 

Guiding Your Intentions Questions

• What things are important to your pregnancy? 
• List 5-6 key ideas and rate in order of importance. 
• What things are important to your Birth? 
• List 5-6 key ideas and rate in order of importance
• What things are important to your Postpartum? 
• List 5-6 key ideas and rate in order of importance
• How do you want to feel once you have reached your goals?
• What feelings do you want to embody?
• What mindset would you like to have? 
• How do you want to feel during your birth?
• How do you want to take care of your physical Health?
• How do you want to take care of your Comfort?
• Who do I want with me and why?  How do they play a positive role in my birth? 
• What kind of setting do I want to create?
• How do I intend to honour my body?
• How do I intend to honour the birth? 
• Why is this important to me, why do I want it? 
• Who is the person I need to be to achieve these goals?
• Who needs to be in my corner?
• How will I make this happen?

What Could My Birth Intentions Involving Birth Photography/Videography Include?

• Hospital Policy on Photography: Make sure you discuss your photography/videography agenda with your healthcare provider. Hospitals, birth clinics, and physicians will have different policies and procedures for photographing birth, and during delivery, especially if there is a scheduled or emergency c-section. 
• Know what you would like photographed/recorded: Have a discussion with your photographer/videographer about what you would like the second stage of active labour to be documented. Would you like just pre-labour and delivery, and/or postpartum? If any birth complications arise, would you like those moments captured?
• Low Light: You can request no flash, but in a very dark space will make for a very dark photograph. So, we turn these into black and white and rock the noise. 🙂
• Comfort: Ensure you are comfortable with me as your birth photographer/videographer. I’ll be capturing a very intimate and precious moment, so we’ll be spending some time building your trust in me so you’ll be comfortable with and around me.
   

If you’re still unsure of how to go about all of your intentions and values, as your doulatog, I can help fill in gaps and answer questions you may have. I also have some “thinking cap” questions, which I can make into a Google Form, or a Fillable Form on 17Hats, or however this would work best for you.

Still need some help with forming your birth intentions and values? The best way to get started is to contact me! You can also book your free consultation if you’re feeling ready to receive further help and info, without the feeling overwhelmed part.