Birth Decisions for you to be aware of:
(courtesy of Indie Birth (Doula Training Materials) and edited by Natalie Meade to suit Australian Birth Choices)
___ Home or hospital (no for real!…have you researched this? Interviewed a midwife?)
___ Hiring a doula (or getting a student midwife)
___ When you would be comfortable with induction or NOT (HUGE TOPIC)
___ When to go in (if hospital)
___ Monitoring baby for 20-30 min on arrival to hospital (not evidence based)
___ Eating and drinking throughout labour – what you’d like
___ Wearing a hospital gown, what to wear, when naked feels good?
___ Blood tests in labour
___ Vaginal exam on arrival
___ Staying or leaving if you are in early labour, not active labour
___ IV antibiotics for GBS in labour
___ Continuous monitoring of baby in labour vs intermittent monitoring (or less)
___ Monitor clipped onto babies scalp whilst inside mother
___ Frequent routine blood pressure checks
___ Routine/offered/assumed vaginal exams throughout labour (typically every few hours, or more)
___ Syntocinon if cervix is not changing at the pace expected
___ Epidural plan (yes, no, at what point, how to decide?)
___ Nitrous oxide (laughing gas, is the word ‘laughing’ accurate? )
___ Hydrotherapy, pool in labour, stay in for birth? Are staff comfortable with that
___ Caesarean section (under what circumstances, how to decide?)
___ Pushing Position (does your provider support upright birth)
___ Starting to push (how to know, who can guide? What you wish for?)
___ Coached pushing versus physiological pushing
___ Perineal support, hands on vulva, warm pad to perineum
___ Episiotomy (what is this? Do you want it? How to do informed refusal)
___ Delivering the baby’s shoulders versus spontaneous birth (hands off approach?)
___ Who catches the baby? Who guides to mother, how fast?
___ Drying baby off (or leaving vernix on)
___ Skin to skin
___ blanket on baby vs. naked (Hat culture? Babies bare head is important for temp regulation))
___ Active management versus physiological placenta birth (routine at some hospitals to intervene)
___ Shot of syntocinon at birth
___ Immediate cord traction, pulling the placenta out
___ Uterine massage
___ Cord clamping [immediate, delayed (60 sec) or physiological, after the placenta]
___ Cord blood collection
___ Vitals on mom and baby immediately after birth
___ Baby latching (waiting for them to do it versus pushing baby to latch asap)
___ Newborn exam (away from you or next to you)
___ Hep B vaccine (day one of life, or delay to 6 weeks, or not at all)
___ Vitamin K shot/oral/not at all
___ Weighing and measuring baby
___ Newborn metabolic screen (heel prick, easier to get blood at about day 3-5 of life)
___ Baby’s first bath
___ Circumcision/intact
___ Checking mom’s perineum for tears, including a rectal exam (your choice)
___ Sutures for any tearing (different degrees of tearing have different recommendations)
___ Sleeping with baby
___ Placenta consumption
___ How long to stay post-birth
___ Rethinking your risk status – this is a huge topic, and one I would urge you to get a
midwifery perspective on if you’ve been told you are high risk!!!
Gentle Caesarean Choices
___ Epidural vs General anaesthesia
___ No additional meds to “relax more”
___ Music of choice, no extraneous conversation
___ Clear drape or lowering the drape as baby is born
___ Skin to skin immediately
___ Delayed cord clamping
___ Saving placenta
Induction Reasons/Topics to Learn About
___ Learn about the risks of induction
___ Big baby
___ Water broke
___ 40, 41, 42 weeks
___ Social reasons
___ Gestational diabetes
___ High blood pressure
___ Membrane sweeps at the end of pregnancy (ALSO, vaginal exams at the end of
pregnancy in general, since they are not helpful and are possibly harmful)
___ Breaking water to START labour
___ Cervadil
___ Foley bulb