BIRTH PLANNING – VALUES CLARIFICATION

Before deciding where and how to have your baby, it’s important to determine your values and needs. These things will determine your choice of birth support provider and place of birth.

The purpose of this exercise is to help you  realize what is important to you  about your birth,  and help you set priorities. Use this to help talk with your  care-providers about what you want. You can also use this when preparing your “Birth Plan”.

Instructions: Number in order of priority, place #1 next to the most important item, then rate your priorities from most important to least important. You will also rate what’s most important about your midwife or doctor.

WHAT IS MOST IMPORTANT TO YOU ABOUT YOUR BIRTH EXPERIENCE?

___To have the most advanced safety equipment “just in case.”

___To avoid using drugs in labor

___To avoid pain

___To avoid having a cesarean section

___To have minimal interference

___To have a medical doctor present

___To labor and give birth in the same place

___To have my partner (family member) be present during the labor and birth

___To have other supportive people present (friends, family members, doula)

___To have my other children present

___To be in quiet, peaceful surroundings

___To be able to welcome the baby gently (dim lights, warm room, etc.)

___To have the baby with me after the birth (no separation)

___To labor and/or give birth in a watertub

___To be able to use a bath or shower for pain relief

___To feel at one with the energy, my partner, the birth attendants throughout the birth

___To be able to do what I choose in labor (change positions, walk, drink fluids, eat)

___To maintain a spiritual perspective throughout the birth

Wild Card (write your own): _______________________________________

WHAT IS IMPORTANT ABOUT YOUR DOCTOR OR MIDWIFE?

Instructions: Rate your doctor or midwife

___S/he has much experience and knowledge about normal birth

___S/he believes in and can facilitate a natural birth

___S/he has much knowledge of complications and emergencies and knows how to handle them

___S/he charges a low fee, takes my insurance, takes Medi-Cal

___S/he has a high regard for me and my partner’s intuition and desires

___S/he will be available throughout the experience, but not interfere with us except for when we ask for help

___S/he will be there in early labor, throughout the birth, and follow up in the postpartum period

___S/he will participate totally, tuned in to our feelings

___S/he can be depended upon to do the right thing, make decisions, and take over during an emergency

___S/he will consult us before doing anything, encouraging our responsibility

___S/he will be with me during labor, birth and if there are any complications

___We feel like friends instead of being in a “professional relationship”

Wild Card (write your own)___________________________________

Adapted from: Special Delivery: Creating the Birth You Want by Rahima Baldwin and Terra Palamarini-Richardson (Celestial Arts Publishers)