The birth plan

June 22, 2016

From the start of my pregnancy, with the announcement of a twin pregnancy, I understood that I would have to make a lot of compromises, of all kinds.

I had to grieve a perfect pregnancy, even if, afterwards, I consider it to have been.

I also had to grieve a perfect birth. You know the one we sometimes hear about: at home, with a midwife, 2-3 contractions and HOP a brand new baby! In my case, even if I am told that a natural birth can be considered, there will be a risk of cesarean section until the very end. It's part of the scenarios, I have to live with it.

I also understood that I would have to grieve for the perfect breastfeeding. Breastfeeding 2 babies at the same time, while respecting my needs as a person living with a chronic illness, does not seem easy. I promise myself to do my 2 hours of daily treatments, and to sleep a minimum of 3 hours in a row per 24 hours. Prenatal breastfeeding courses are a source of frustration for me. No nurse, in her theory recitation, wants to adapt her speech for my particular situation. Never mind, a group of moms of twins on Facebook makes me believe in mixed breastfeeding.

It is with all these considerations in mind that I develop my birth plan, which I will give to the nurse who will accompany me. Here are some excerpts:

“I am happy to be able to try a natural birth; this type of delivery would allow me to avoid lung complications following surgery. However, my priority is the health of the babies, if a c-section is considered safer, I am not at all opposed to this practice. However, I would appreciate it if we didn't use this method from the start, for the sake of convenience.”

“I am aware that there will be a party in the bedroom when I give birth. However, I would like people to be discreet enough, so that it doesn't feel like we're in a rock party, but rather a flat Christmas Eve.”

“I recognize that my situation can be formative for different students to observe. I don't object to them being in the room. However, it is their responsibility and their professionalism to ensure that we have the impression that they are located behind an undyed mirror, rather than in our bubble. We therefore reserve the possibility of asking them to leave the room if they disturb our peace of mind, all with the dexterity and politeness possible for a woman at work! ”

“I want to feed my babies breast milk. However, breastfeeding is NOT my #1 priority. I have attended several information sessions on breastfeeding, I know the issues related to bottles, but I want to respect myself in this process. I will be grateful if you will accompany me in teaching me how to breastfeed 2 babies, but I will refuse to have them work hard on me and on the babies to push them to drink exclusively from the breast. I brought my breast pump and bottles that are sterile. I would prefer to use these instead of the hospital ones, in case I need to use baby bottles. Thank you for spreading the word to all the nurses who will be coming to support me in this process.”

I had a lot of fun writing these few lines! Now, will it be respected?

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