Sharon Quarrington and Bruce Craig: Birth Plan

Bruce and I are looking forward to the birth of our first child with great anticipation. We are pleased to be having our child at Women’s College Hospital where the staff and facilities are available to provide us with the kind of birth experience we are hoping for.

To help us prepare for this birth we have done a great deal of reading, have attended labour classes and have engaged the services of Heather Mains, a trained labour support person (doula). We have also written this birth plan to facilitate communicating our hopes and wishes to all the care givers that will be involved in bringing our child into the world.

We understand that birthing a baby is by no means predictable and if complications were to arise, we are open to guidance in necessary procedures for both the baby and Sharon. With that in mind these are the key points we would like you to be aware of:

• We have registered with the Cord Blood program at TGH and have brought a cord blood kit with us. Please let us know if you are not familiar with the cord blood procedures.

• Sharon is concerned about having a negative reaction to the hospital environment, she had some bad experience in hospital as a child. To minimize this we would ask that the care givers involved in our labour be as supportive as possible..
• We have a strong preference for a natural, intervention free, unmedicated vaginal birth and would appreciate any suggestions on breathing techniques, relaxation, massage, positions or activities that can be used for pain relief.
• Sharon would like the ability to move around and change positions as much as possible.
• When the time for pushing comes we would like to use spontaneous, non-directed bearing down.
• We would like assistance with positions, compresses, oils etc that will help keep Sharon’s perenium intact. Sharon has a strong aversion to epistiotomy.
• We would like your help understanding all medical options and would like to discuss the pros and cons of an intervention before making an informed decision.
• We would like our child to arrive in a calm and soothing environment. If possible while the baby is being born we would like the lights to be dimmed and voices to remain soft and warm.
• Once the baby has arrived we would like the baby to be placed on Sharon’s chest. We would like the baby to remain with us at all times during our hospital stay.

The birth of our baby is a very special time that we have been anticipating with great joy, we are looking forward to this once in a lifetime experience and are glad you can share it with us.

Thank you.

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