Birth Planning Part 2

M&B’ panellist Sonali Shivlani is an Internationally Certified Pregnancy Consultant and a child nutrition counsellor. She is the executive director of CAPPA India, and also trains aspiring birth professionals to achieve certification in pregnancy, birth and lactation counselling.

- Sonali Shivlani

This is the second part of our exclusive series on birth planning. The first part covered pre-birth choices, and now its time to consider all your options for the main event!

There are a number of options at your disposal during labour and birth, and if you are aware of them, you will be able to make the right choice to give you the birth you want. Being in control of the process can make it a more enjoyable and empowering experience for both you and your partner.

So now that you are at the hospital and have been checked and confirmed that you are indeed in labour, its time to get settled. Prepare the environment as per your preference. You have a choice, room brightly lit or dim, cool or warm, pillows, blankets and anything else to make you feel comfortable and relaxed. Besides these, here are a few things that you can consider.

To begin with all women need pain relief, and no I do not mean the medical pain relief. There are two types of pain relief—medical and non-medical. In your birth plan you should make a list of non-medical pain relief or distractions that you and your partner can try. This can actually help you to delay opting for medical alternatives and maybe even avoid them completely.

MUMS, PLEASE NOTE

1 Do you like music? If yes what kind? Pack a few of your favourite albums on your phone so that you can relax with your own music.

2 Do you like hot or cold therapy? Pack gel packs which can be used as per your preference.