Preparing for birth is important. Preparing to give birth during a pandemic can be even more important. Birth planning is something that I do with all my doula clients. Writing a birth plan is less about mapping out exactly how you want things to go, because birth isn’t about control. Birth planning is more about exploring all your options so that you can communicate them clearly to the people trying to help you.
Know Your Options
Learning what your options are is really important usually, but some of those options are more limited because of COVID-19. My friend Alice is a doula in Seattle, and she made this great video full of tips for giving birth during a pandemic and talking to your provider. One of my other favorite resources for information Evidence Based Birth made a FREE online birth class for this specific situation. I am writing a separate post about more general childbirth classes, but these are both really great situation specific resources for right now. It is really important that you talk to your provider about all your wishes and make sure you know what policies are in place wherever you are planning to give birth.
Supporting Your Partner
Birth planning during COVID-19 is important, and now more than ever it is important to learn how to help your partner cope with labor. Maybe you planned to have a doula present and now that isn’t an option. My friend Alice has a very inexpensive online class** designed just for partners, and I highly recommend it. She has even added a module on practicing labor! If you are looking for a book to learn more, I highly recommend The Birth Partner by Penny Simkin. She was one of the founders of my doula training organization and this book is an excellent resource. My doula friends in Quebec have also produced a FREE download on labor support that you might find helpful.
Helpful Experience
In the last 6 years I have attended over 140 births as a doula. Keeping abreast of all the local hospital policies is important to me, and am a certified childbirth educator. I have lots of experience, and I would love to sit down and talk to you about your birth plans. I am offering virtual birth planning sessions for $150 that include a 2 hour meeting to talk about your birth plans, a PDF copy of my 96 page childbirth education booklet full of information for you to learn about childbirth, example birth plans, email support to review your birth plan to get it just right, and bonus handouts including a birth themed coloring book. This doula would love to help you walk through your options and decide what is right for your family right now.
I have been able to attend one birth recently at a hospital, and it honestly was wonderful. The staff was honestly impressive and the entire experience wasn’t nearly as scary as I had imagined it would be. It was great to be able to support my client in person, but I don’t know how much longer that is going to last during this pandemic.
Birth planning during COVID-19 can help you feel more secure and ready. Knowing what to expect can take so much of the anxiety out of the process. I’ve been there, and I would love to help you.
P.S. If you haven’t heard, you can now stream all parts of the movie The Business of Being Born here if you are interested!
**This is an affiliate link and I will receive money if you click through and purchase the course. This is not a way I am planning to get rich, but a nice bonus for recommending products that I really do believe in to my clients. I’m happy to talk to you about it if you have any concerns.