So you want an unmedicated birth…
UNMEDICATED, LOW INTERVENTION birth is usually a conscious choice planned ahead of time.
When people plan this kind of birth they often go into third trimester and even labor with only the idea and plan that this is what they want.
Unfortunately, having it on your birth plan when you show up to the hospital is likely not enough to prepare you for ultimately not getting the epidural or other pharmaceutical medications.
Here’s what you do need:
📣 A team of providers and support people (like your partner) who are on board with this plan and know that in the tough moments the best thing to say and do is ‘you’re doing it right now!’ and ‘remember you wanted and unmedicated birth? Well, you’re doing it right now! Keep going. You’re doing amazing.’ Or even some tough love ‘look, you don’t want the epidural. This is hard but you’re stronger. Keep going.’
👩🏻⚕️ Start having these conversations with your provider ASAP. Tell them every time you see them, what you want and the details of your birth plan. Notice their response. If it’s ‘oh yea! I love supporting unmedicated births. You got this.’ That’s a very positive response! Great provider for your birth. If the provider says ‘We’ll see how it goes’ or ‘Most of my patients end up with the epidural even after they say they didn’t want it lol’ then that’s a huge red flag. Start the search for another provider who will support your birth plan and preferences.
🦄 Hire a doula! Doulas help keep your plans and preferences honored throughout the labor and birth process. They are skilled at comfort and support but they are also knowledgeable about birth and medicine and are able to support you in navigating the hospital’s dynamics. Especially in a way that your partner or family member probably isn’t aware of or practiced in.
🧠 Prepare your mind and spirit! Labor and birth are formative experiences. Before stepping into the intensity of labor and birth, it is imperative to prepare yourself for that. We spend our lives avoiding pain, intensity, hardship, and tough physical & emotional labor. Labor and birth are meant to rock you to your core, strip you of all that’s unnecessary, and remind you of who you are at your core. This is the essential practice: being comfortable in the stripped down version of you.
👩🏻🎓 Educate yourself. Going into labor and birth with this ‘plan’ but no route or path to get there is going to make it tough to have an it unmedicated birth experience. Research what interventions might be available to you and consider under what circumstances you’d want to utilize them. Make sure to show up at the hospital while in active labor and avoid getting an induction which leads to higher use of epidural and other interventions for a number of reasons. And finally, educate yourself on maternal positioning and pharma-free pain relief options.
Just know that, when you’re planning an unmedicated, low intervention labor and birth, YOU ARE CAPABLE OF IT. Birth is hard. It’s often painful. But that’s what’s normal about it. That’s what your ancestors did. It’s what our bodies were made to do. We just need the right preparation, education, and support to guide us through the hard and intense moments.
Building your birth plan means giving yourself the power to say what you want, to navigate the twists and turns of labor, and to feel confident in your choices.
Why make a birth plan?
Birth planning is important so that you can consider what paths are preferred, how you want to handle various complication or urgent situations, and is important so that you and your partner know how best to move forward with decision-making and relaying your preferences to your providers.
The 3 Pathways
In this workbook, you will learn how to make a birth plan that allows for flexibility. You'll make 3 pathways of birth. Each pathway will require you to research and consider your own risk assessment as well as the tools available to you at your place of birth (including who is attending your birth).
Who & Where
Many birthers automatically feel that the nearest hospital and their current gynecologist are the only options for their birth. In this section you'll explore other options that are available for you, what questions to ask your providers in order to confirm if they are the best provider for you, and prompts to consider where would be the best place for you to give birth.
Putting it all together!
This workbook will guide you to put it all together! You'll choose from a few templates and plug in your birth plan. Once you're done, I highly recommend printing and laminating your birth plan!