Issue link: http://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/915948
Rachel was ahead of the game. The first-time mom and her partner had purchased a crib, painted the nursery and picked out a name for their son. The last item on Rachel's to-do list? Draft a birth plan. BIRTH PLANS HELP expectant moms communicate their labor and delivery preferences to their doctor or midwife and other medical professionals. Unexpected events can make it difficult for women to plan every aspect of their labor, so birth plans typically include a list of broad preferences that touch on topics like pain management and breastfeeding plans, as well as other details. "The most effective birth plans are short—one page or less—and flexible," says Jessica Goldman, C.N.M., M.S.N., a certified nurse midwife at NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital. "Women should think of their birth plans as guides to how, in a perfect world, they'd create their preferred birth scenario, but they should also remember that things can change during labor and delivery." Moms-to-be should write their birth plans early in their third trimester, after they have completed a childbirth education class, and they should share the plan with their doctor or midwife as soon as possible. "Women want to avoid situations in which they're in labor when they learn that a hospital policy or their doctor disagrees with their birth plan," says Sanford Lederman, M.D., chairman and program director of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at NYP Brooklyn Methodist. "Having a candid conversation about the birth plan prior to arriving at the labor and delivery unit is important because it allows everyone to be on the same page and enhances the comfort and trust between women and their doctors or midwives." Labor & Delivery A BLUEPRINT FOR 10 WINTER 2018 W W W.N Y P.O RG / BRO OKLY N W O M E N ' S H E A LT H 10