The Plan
I’ve worked on this project of communicating a birth plan creation for months. It seems that it is too complex to put into a blog. Then I had an epiphany, make it simple.
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Because honestly, a birth plan is simple. Understanding what you need to birth easily and gently is all you need to know. Your body is designed for labor and birth. Your automatic nervous system does it for you. Just like breathing, your heart beating, and digesting your food; your reproduction system will take over and birth your baby. Women in a coma give birth without conscious pushing. Ina May Gaskin said, “Remember this, for it is as true and true gets: Your body is not a lemon. You are not a machine. The Creator is not a careless mechanic. Human female bodies have the same potential to give birth well as aardvarks, lions, rhinoceri, elephants, moose, and water buffalo. Even if it has not been your habit throughout your life so far, I recommend that you learn to think positively about your body.”
Promotion of the hormones of labor, oxytocin (the critical hormone), is achieved by dim light, love, warm surroundings, privacy, and feeling safe. According to Michel Odent in The Function of the Orgasm, oxytocin is a love hormone, a shy hormone. So firstly, think of where you can accomplish this. Hospital? Perhaps. Birth Center? More likely. Home? Absolutely. Next, surround yourself with maternity care providers that are supportive of this vision. Hospital? Perhaps. Birth Center? More likely. Home? Absolutely.
Now, let’s not forget that your baby is an active participant. Your baby is moving, adjusting, and aiding in the birth process. Keep your baby’s comfort in mind. Keep repositioning to allow the easy descent of your baby. Your body will tell you in which position to be. Tune into that innate voice. Surround yourself with love to encourage your baby to want to emerge — communication with your baby of an invitation into the warm, safe environment.
So, see? Simple. Create an environment where you feel safe, feel loved, unobserved, warm, and uninhibited. Communicate with your baby, welcoming, encouraging, and loving conversations. This is once in a lifetime event. Plan for it with the same passion you would a wedding. This baby will only be born once.
