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Prepare for your birth experience!

This is a complete guide to preparing for your best Labor and Delivery!

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Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth

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Hey mama, get ready to plan your best labor and delivery experience! I was the queen of preparation when it came to what I wanted my birth plan to look like. I watched all the pros on YouTube, compared birth plan templates and hospital checklists, and surveyed many mamas on what they thought I’d need when the time finally came. I have your back, and we’re going to make sure you feel like you’re set to conquer your big day. Yes, it is YOUR big day. You have the power to make it everything you want and be in the best mindset to enjoy and flow through your entire birth experience. You deserve to feel the bliss of the day, even if things don’t go according to plan, and you will have all the tools you need to handle whatever comes your way.

Planning ahead will ensure a smooth and stress-free birthing experience, and there are a few things I recommend doing to get yourself ready. Take control of your birth experience by creating your own birth plan, use a hospital bag checklist, and educate yourself on all of the ins and outs of labor so nothing comes as a surprise. Knowledge is absolutely power, and you and your partner should be prepared to advocate for your birth plan at every step.

With the knowledge you will learn, you’ll want to create a birth plan that fits your personal preferences in the entire process from start to finish. A physical print out of a birth plan and use of a hospital bag checklist to pack everything you need to ensure your plan is followed are both valuable resources for expecting parents! You can get my free editable templates for both here!

This is the last photo we took, before meeting our little bean burrito! We were so ready!

**#bestdayever!**

Step 1-Understand the Birthing Process:

My understanding of labor was surprisingly limited, as I found out during my research. I found myself very scared by everything I was hearing when I first got pregnant, and I decided I needed to learn what it was all about for myself. It is so important that you decide to surround yourself with positive women with positive things to say about birth. There is an epidemic of women who want to scare you, especially in our culture, into thinking it is a painful and scary experience where you have no control unless you drug yourself up ASAP, and that narrative has to stop. So, YOU have to seek out positive experiences for yourself!

I highly recommend watching youtube videos about positive birth experiences often. These will lift you up and help you realize there are so many different things to look forward to in the process. There are also great videos on techniques to use during your labor, and you can find what works best for you.

The book Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth gives a very clear picture of the culture we live in and the counterintuitive thinking that has overtaken our society. As one of the most successful midwives ever, she gives you her firsthand accounts of tons of wonderful birth stories, and plenty of data on childbirth that spin your mindset from scared and uncertain to empowered and excited all in one easy to follow book! She will have you ready to plan things your way! I can’t recommend this book enough.

STEP 2- Creating your Birth Plan

I will preface this with the fact that I’ve personally seen a lot of birth plans and letters from mothers to their healthcare provider, and there’s a big thing I saw left out of a lot of them, and that’s respect for the provider of your care. This consideration is often left out, I think from a place of fear and need for control. I totally get it, but it is important to remember to approach your provider as a CO-collaborator to your birth plan. You chose this provider and team because you trust them (hopefully). You have researched and used the information you learned to find a provider that best fits you and your plans already, so it is important to not sound too demanding in these requests.

You will also want to be somewhat flexible to really ensure you have a low stress labor. Remember this is a template of preferences, not hard and fast rules. Labor is unpredictable, and you have to be prepared for this plan to be completely changed. You may even want to add parts that account for the unexpected- “if this happens, then the plan is this”. You are simply using this as a guide for you, your partner, and your provider’s team to be on the same page as to what you have in mind for your birthing experience. You will use this plan at your appointments leading up to birth to communicate, ask questions and review your expectations with your provider as well as bringing it to your labor the day of! Having this blueprint will guard you from a feeling any anxiety or unpreparedness when choices may have to be made.

In my birth plan added a separate page for my hubby with tips for how he could best help me that even included affirmations and a “code word” for if/when I was ready for an epidural “for real” as I was preparing for an unmedicated birth. (Of course, it was food related as I was starving my whole pregnancy!) My hubby was great and used this tool as a guide, and honestly, he was basically my personally trained doula!

Get my editable BIRTH PLAN template is customizable to fit your preferences in my NEW MOM BUNDLE! BONUS: Partner Page

Step 3- Packing your Hospital Bag

There are certainly a lot of things you could bring to the hospital that would make your stay more comfortable, but there’s really only a handful of hospital bag essentials you “need”. Check out what I recommend here: Mama's Hospital Bag: 8 things you need to bring and the things you don’t! — XO Marilyn Elizabeth. My labor was surprisingly fast and half of the things I brought that I thought I’d need simply went unused. I was so happy to have them in the event I did need them, but I think what moms forget is what you’ll want to plan for after labor.

Bring things like your own pillow and blanket! I was sooo chilly the whole time and loved having the comfort of home with me. Also, do not forget your nursing pillow! I debated this back and forth and got what I consider bad advice to leave it behind and ultimately made the wrong choice! I was stacking a bunch of hospital pillows to be comfy, and I wish I’d just packed my boppy! You’ll also want to pre-pack for you, partner, and baby! Unless you live close by, you’ll definitely want to remember to pack your partner a few things, and I think they’re forgotten in the whole planning pretty often. And you need surprisingly little for the baby, honestly. Aside from a going home outfit and a car seat I really didn’t need all that I had packed for my little guy. Here’s an example packlist and you can add or edit to it! I recommend packing your bag in the 3rd trimester and keeping it by the door or even in the car as early as 32 weeks! I was only about half packed until I was about 38 weeks. Luckily, I went into labor on my due date, so it was fine but I’ll be sure to finish earlier this time around!

Preparing for your labor and delivery is actually a really fun and amazing way to bond with your baby. You’re getting ready to bring a new human into the world, and with every step you take to educate yourself for your labor you really connect to your pregnancy in an intentional way. Taking these steps to plan will ensure you are prepared for the big day. Include your partner in every step and the bond intensifies even more!

Check out my FREE New Mom Bundle for printables and editable downloads!

Includes Checklists, templates, and more for Pregnancy and Postpartum! Plus, my complete Roadmap on How to start Cloth Diapering!

You’ve got this mama, and you should be so proud of yourself for taking charge of your birth story. I am so excited for you and humbled that you took the time to let me empower your journey!