Things for a Birth Mother to Include in Texas Adoption Birth/Hospital Plan
When you meet with your adoption team to create your adoption plan in Texas, one of the most important things that will come up to plan is your birth plan AKA hospital plan. For any woman who is pregnant, a birth plan is an essential part of a successful stress-free pregnancy, labor, and delivery.
If you need help with adoption now, you can call us at 945-444-0333, text us at 945-444-0333, or email us here.
A birth plan is a carefully thought out plan that is laid out in a document that outlines the woman’s wants and needs to get through her delivery. Included in this birth plan will be information on what you will want during her labor, delivery, and postpartum care at a hospital. Having a birth plan is essential to have in order to reduce the amount of stress that you may experience while giving birth.
Things will naturally come up during your labor and delivery that may be out of your control. But, having a guideline for you, your adoption, and hospital team to have will help to make the process run smoother. Placing your child for adoption does add a few more things to consider when planning your birth and hospital plan. So, here are some things to include in your birth plan!
- The Basics
When creating your birth plan, also known as a hospital plan, there are some basic elements that will be included. Your birth plan should include basic information such as your name, contact information, emergency contact information, insurance information, OBGYN contact information, and any other basic items that your adoption team may suggest to be included.
Having this information on hand will help to get rid of confusion, tension, and stress during your labor and delivery. These basic things may seem obvious to include, but when you are in a hospital and in labor, having these items at the ready for your delivery team will make this time as easy as possible for you!
- Labor
- Atmosphere
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- An important factor of a birth plan that might be easily overlooked is how you want your labor environment to be. While in labor, you will be experiencing a lot of emotions and it can cause stress. This is not what you want while in labor and that is where your ideal labor environment comes in to help you feel comfortable. When contemplating how you want the atmosphere of your labor to be, think about a few of these things:
- Lighting (dim light always helps!)
- Music (classical, uplighting, calming)
- Birthing Tools (stool, ball, chair)
- Taking Walks (walking around often helps with contractions!)
- Shower or Bath (being in water may you relax while in labor)
- Support Team
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- Labor and delivery is an emotional, difficult, and wonderful experience. It is a great thing to have someone that is important to you to be at the hospital with you to support you. For most hospitals, there is a limit of how many people can be in a delivery room, so make sure to specify with your particular hospital what the capacity limits will be.
Birth mothers also have an extra element to think about when debating who they want present during their labor: do I want to have the adoptive parents of present during labor and delivery? There is no right or wrong answer! Whether or not you have your child’s adoptive parents with you is based on your own needs and comfort level.
- Pain Management
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- Pain management is an important decision to make when thinking about your ideal labor and delivery. There are a few different ways to receive pain relief during your labor. This can be through an epidural or intravenous narcotics. Many women decide to receive an epidural, but many women also decide to have a natural birth.
There is no right or wrong way to go with pain management! A natural birth and birth using pain medication are both valid and wonderful.
- Delivery & Postpartum
There are a few delivery preferences to consider when creating your birth plan. Do you want to have a vaginal birth? Or would you prefer a C-section? These are preferences to discuss with your OBGYN before your labor and delivery. You may want to have a vaginal birth, but it is important to be prepared for a C-section should the procedure be needed.
There are a few other things to consider for your delivery that will be beneficial to include in your birth plan. Things such as: who will cut the umbilical cord, whether or not you want an episiotomy (an incision to enlarge the vaginal opening), if you want to have photos taken, and if you want to spend time with your baby after giving birth.
This can be a difficult decision for birth mothers to make. The decision to hold, nurse, or spend time with your baby after giving birth is an emotional choice, but something to consider in case you might regret not having done this later. Whatever you decide, you are making the right decision based on your needs and wishes.
Things to Include in Your Adoption Birth Plan
A birth plan is a helpful tool for you to use in the days leading up to your child’s birth and during your labor and delivery. For any woman who is pregnant, a birth plan is an essential part of a successful stress-free pregnancy, labor, and delivery.
Things will naturally come up during your labor and delivery that may be out of your control. But, having a blueprint for you, your Texas adoption team, and your hospital team will help to make the process run smoother. The above things to include in your birth plan will help you to have a good idea of what will happen during your labor and delivery, as well as have control over how you want this amazing experience to go.
As an expectant woman or birth parent, to learn more about adoption, contact Adoption Choices of Texas. You can call us at 945-444-0333, text us at 945-444-0333, or email us here. If you are hoping to adopt, please visit us here. We look forward to helping you through your adoption journey!
Meet the Author: Sarah Henderson can best be described as someone with an eclectic taste in all things related to literacy and writing. She can be found reading a wide array of subjects from true crime novels to the next young adult fantasy series. Because of her love of literature, it has been Sarah’s dream to become a novelist herself.
After graduating from college in 2019, Sarah has been spending her time planning, researching and writing for her first novel. When she isn’t reading or writing her novel, you can find Sarah out for her early morning run, hiking a three-plus mile hike or cooking her favorite vegan meal. She presently lives in Indianapolis, IN and is waiting for the next chapter of her life to begin!
