Why You MUST HAVE A Birth Plan

Image courtesy of Canadian Family

This holiday season was especially memorable and meaningful for me and my family because we welcomed Milo, my beautiful little nephew, to the mix. My sister was in labor for 20 hours and ended up getting a C-section!! She didn’t dilate beyond 5 cm and the Pitocin was stressing the baby out so there was no other options. During this long labor of 4 nurse shift changes and the sheer exhaustion from just being there, we all forgot about the Cord Blood collection. I know a Birth Plan is a must for some, it is just comforting to know that you have dotted all the i’s and crossed all the t’s but there are those free form people, like my sister who just wanted to wing it without one. Well, now she is paying the price. If she had a birthing plan, every nurse who came on shift would have looked at it and made sure the Cord Blood collection kit went into the OR with her when she went in for the C-section. During the stress of making that decision and the hubbub of getting ready to move all her stuff from the Labor and Delivery room to the OR Recovery, it was just forgotten. I should have insisted she had one, or even did one for her, being the experienced one with 2 deliveries under my belt (both of which had Cord Blood collected). If you are pregnant or know someone who is pregnant, make sure to do one, it only takes a few minutes and Baby Center has an easy check list that prints out for your convenience.