Writing a birth & feeding plan
Congratulations! You are now at the stage in your pregnancy where you are planning and preparing for the birth of your baby. You may be feeling excited, nervous, hopeful, overwhelmed, or a combination of many emotions. Writing a birth plan can help you organize your thoughts and communicate to your health care team what is important to you.
As a former Labour and Delivery & Postpartum nurse who now has a private practice as a Lactation Consultant, I want parents to feel empowered and prepared to welcome their baby into their family.
What is a birth plan?
A birth plan is a tool that communicates your personalized preferences and goals to your healthcare team. It can be as simple or as detailed as you wish, and it helps your healthcare team better understand what is important to you. It is also important to understand that there may be unpredictable complications where medical interventions are necessary, which may or may not have been identified in your birth plan. Depending on your health or the health of your baby, or in the event of an emergency, decisions may need to be made very quickly. Whenever a decision needs to be made, it is done in collaboration with you and the clinical expertise of your healthcare provider.
Creating space in your birth plan to be adaptable to change when needed decreases the risk of birth trauma and feelings of disappointment.
How do I write a birth plan?
Taking a prenatal class can be incredibly helpful step in preparing for childbirth and provide you with valuable insight into the labour and delivery process. You can also talk with your OBGYN, Midwife, Family Doctor, or other healthcare team members to make sure you include what is most important to you. What you include will depend on your pregnancy, health condition, plan for delivery, support system, and other factors.
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has a sample birth plan that you can fill out and print to add to your medical chart, or you can create your own. Depending on where you plan to delivery your baby, some medical facilities may not be able to accommodate certain requests.
Discuss the following with your healthcare provider so that you have an opportunity to review your requests:
Fetal monitoring (baby’s heartbeat) and contraction monitoring
Pain medication and management options
Fluids and nutrition
Movement and positions during labour
Vaginal and cervical exams
Who is present in the delivery room
Comfort measures during labour and delivery
Delayed cord clamping
Skin to skin and bonding after birth
Feeding plan after birth
Baby’s medical care
Visitors after birth
Postpartum recovery
Religious or cultural traditions
Fears/previous trauma
Any information you want your medical team to know
What is a feeding plan?
A feeding plan is how you would like to provide nutrition to your baby when they are born.
The best nutrition for human babies is human milk, directly from the breast/chest. However, for some birthing parents, breast/chest feeding may not be their preference. Meeting with a Lactation Consultant in your third trimester of pregnancy can give you the opportunity to discuss your feeding goals and concerns, and assist you in writing your feeding plan.
Taking a prenatal breastfeeding class is also highly recommended to learn about the basics and the benefits of breastfeeding for you & your baby. Preparing for the birth of your baby should include a feeding plan to optimize your success!
Valley Doulas FREE Prenatal Class!
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Valley Doulas FREE Prenatal Class! 〰️ Contact Info Below 〰️
What should I include in my feeding plan?
^ (click for more information on the benefits of skin-to-skin)
Skin to skin contact provides you and your baby with incredible benefits and is recommended immediately following birth - even if you do not plan to breastfeed. Many hospitals have skin-to-skin policies in place to promote this practice after vaginal and c-section deliveries, however many families will still include skin-to-skin contact in their birth and feeding plan. Being skin-to-skin with your baby is the first step to successful breastfeeding and should not be interrupted unless there is a concern with you or your baby.
*TIP: skin to skin helps alleviate your baby’s pain! Nursing your baby or having them skin to skin before bloodwork or medications administered by a needle can help manage their pain. Check out Power of a Parent’s Touch from the IWK Health Centre to learn more about the benefits of skin-to-skin contact.
Support & assistance
Breastfeeding is a skill. It is the natural way to feed our babies, but for most parents it can be difficult to “get it right”. In your feeding plan you can include how the healthcare team can best support you. Would you like someone present as often as possible during breastfeeding to provide you with assistance? Do you learn best by verbal instruction or hands-on help? If available, do you want to meet with a Lactation Consultant before you are discharged? Let the team know how they can best support you.
Rooming-In and Feeding on Demand
Unless there is a medical reason to keep you and your baby separated, your baby will room-in with you during your hospital stay. Rooming-in means that your baby will be provided with a cot in your room to stay with you, as bed-sharing/co-sleeping is not recommended for safe sleep practices. Routine assessments, procedures, and tests will also be completed in your room so that your baby is never separated from you. Rooming-in encourages “feeding on demand” or “responsive feeding”, which means that when your baby cues that they are hungry, you respond by feeding them. Babies have tiny tummies and need to drink often; a healthy, term newborn will feed 8-12 times in a 24-hour period, or roughly every 2-3 hours (even overnight). During this time, it is important to prioritize your rest and recovery. In your feeding plan you can include: how often you would like visitors, or list specific visitors that are permitted during your hospital stay; if you brought your own colostrum how can you request/access/store your milk and offer it to your baby when needed, how you would like to offer colostrum to your baby if necessary (by syringe/cup/spoon), etc.
Medical interventions
Learning that your baby has a medical concern, or is having feeding challenges, can be scary and cause parents to worry. Asking your care providers questions is recommended and encouraged so that you have a better understanding of what is happening.
Some common concerns that can present in newborns: jaundice (with or without phototherapy), weight loss, low blood sugars, prematurity, or being admitted to a newborn nursery.
You can include in your birth & feeding plan how you would like to navigate certain medical interventions, in collaboration with your healthcare team: offering your own colostrum before supplementing with formula, how your baby should be supplemented (spoon, cup, syringe, lactation aid/supplemental nursing system, etc.), and requesting to be present if testing or procedures need to be completed outside of your room. This is also an important time to hold space for yourself and talk about how you are feeling and coping. Medical interventions for a baby who is sick or needs additional support can cause significant stress and concern for parents; planning for supporting your mental health and wellbeing should be included within your birth and/or feeding plan.
Colostrum harvesting:
Colostrum is the milk your body begins to make in your second trimester of pregnancy, and for the first few days after the birth of your baby (also known as the “first milk”). Did you know that you can express colostrum after 36 weeks of pregnancy? *Check with your healthcare provider to ensure hand expression is safe for you and your baby.
Some research has shown that hand expressing milk after 36 weeks of pregnancy can help prepare your cervix for labour, however the primary benefit of hand expression during the last month of pregnancy is collecting your colostrum. Harvesting colostrum provides the following benefits:
Your own milk can be used to feed your baby. If you and your baby are separated, if there are feeding challenges, or there is a medical indication for supplementation, you can use your own milk first. Whatever you express during your pregnancy can be stored and brought to the hospital with you (this can be included in your feeding plan!)
You become more familiar with your body and the technique of expressing your milk. Your own hands are the best tools to express colostrum!
Boost your confidence in your ability to make milk and care for your baby.
Check out More Milk Sooner to learn more about how you and express, store, and use your colostrum. They also offer virtual breastfeeding classes!
Looking for a way to store your colostrum? Haakaa colostrum collection kits are user friendly and make collecting and storing your colostrum so easy!
This is an affiliate link, I may earn a commission if you decide to purchase this product using this link.
Additional Resources:
Book a Prenatal Consultation with Tamara, RN & IBCLC
La Leche League is a free, peer-based support group, led by experienced leaders who have breastfed.
First Droplets has amazing videos on hand expression and preparing for the early hours/days of breastfeeding.
