Birth Plan August 2018

I felt it was important for me to have a birth plan after researching and reading several articles and books. Even though I have a plan, I am completely okay with throwing it out the window if $h!t hits the fan. First and foremost, get baby out is the best plan regardless of method. But if I were to have it 100% my way with zero complications and in the perfect world, here is my birth plan:

Birth Center Plan / Hospital: UCSD Jacobs Center (619)299-6667
Estimate Due Date: 8/19/18
Midwife: Rebecca Garrett-Brown
Pediatric Care: Point Loma Pediatrics / Jennifer Davis

Request: Volunteer Doula
Request: Lactation Consultant Meeting within the first hour of delivery
Send Doctor Note for Recovery Time / Disability & Proof of Birth to Work
Call CBR Courier: 1.888.588.1292
Call Sean at Aqua Regenerative Therapies

Medical Information:

• Sulfa Med Allergy
• QUAD Screen: Inhibin A Hormone

During Labor:
No guests in labor room / family lounge until 1 hour after birth (Husband ONLY)
Vaginal birth with little to no intervention unless medically necessary
NO membrane sweep
NO pitocin
Free movement
Use of laboring tub during first stage
Wear my own clothes
Water and light snacks if approved by midwife/doctor
Natural water rupture
Lights dim / Soft music playlist (we will provide)
Pain Relief: Breathing, Massage, Nitrous Oxide Gas, Pudendal block before delivery.
NO Episiotomy
Few interruptions and vaginal exams as possible.
Fetal monitoring with Doppler when midwife deems necessary.

Delivery:
Positions: Squat, Kneeling, Hand & Knees
Husband to catch baby and/or cord cut if he chooses to.
Cord Blood Collection: CBR
Cord Tissue Collection: Aqua Regenerative Therapies
No Eye Ointment / Erythromycin
No Hep B Shot (Pediatrician will administer)
Yes Vitamin K - Delay 1 hour after delivery

After Delivery:
Immediate skin to skin contact
Delay exams for bonding
Ice Packs for Soreness
Lactation Consultant
Newborn Photographer: (Michelle Mattox)

I decided this route for many reasons, I know having a natural with no intervention birth sounds crazy, but after so much research, I went this route in hopes of a shorter labor and what I feel will be best for myself and baby. I am also not an anti vaccinator, but I will chose to forgo the erythromycin eye ointment and Hep B shot right after birth and here is why:

Erythromycin ophthalmic preparations are used to treat infections of the eye. They also may be used to prevent certain eye infections of newborn babies, such as neonatal conjunctivitis and ophthalmia neonatorum. They may be used with other medicines for some eye infections. (Mayo Clinic 2017) The CDC website states the most common neonatal conjunctivitis is from chlamydia and gonorrhea and "other bacteria" but I have not been able to find evidence that supports the "other bacteria" claim. Since I was tested negative for any STDs I found that this eye ointment isn't necessary. In Canada, doctors have said the ointment doesn't work on certain strains of gonorrhea anymore anyway. In fact, a lot of countries in Europe have stopped recommending this process. (UK, Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Belgium, and Australia).

The Hep B shot is something I will eventually will vaccinate my child with, but not immediately after birth but when she is at least 3 - 6 months of age. Hepatitis B is an infection of the liver caused by the hepatitis B virus (HBV). According to the CDC, there were 3,050 cases of acute infection reported in the United States in 2013, which comes out to roughly 1 case per 100,000 people. It is contacted through blood and other bodily fluids. My husband and I have already been vaccinated with Hep B and A and we don't plan for our child to go to daycare. The birth experience is already traumatic enough, delaying this for 3-6 months makes me feel comfortable as a parent.

Neonatal intramuscular vitamin K is an important preventive service offered to newborns in the United States for the prevention of potentially devastating bleeding. The duration of risk for infants extends to 6 months of age, this bleeding could be severe and life-threatening, or that this risk is increased among children who are exclusively breastfed (Marcewicz, et al. 2017). For this reason, I said yes to the vitamin K shot.

Read my post for more information on Cord Blood Banking.

References

Jones, C., M.D. (2017, January 07). Separating Fact from Fiction in the Newborn Nursery: Hepatitis B Vaccine for Newborns. Retrieved from https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/separating-fact-from-fiction-in-the-newborn-nursery-hepatitis-b-vaccine-for-newborns/

Marcewicz, L., Clayton, J., Maenner, M., Odom, E., Okoroh, E., Christensen, D., & ... Grant, A. (2017). Parental Refusal of Vitamin K and Neonatal Preventive Services: A Need for Surveillance. Maternal & Child Health Journal, 21(5), 1079-1084. doi:10.1007/s10995-016-2205-8

https://evidencebasedbirth.com/is-erythromycin-eye-ointment-always-necessary-for-newborns/

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