Often when working with a pregnant client the topic of 'birth plan' usually comes up. Many people don't want to use the phrase at all, while others dive right into and chat about the exact specifics of how they want their birth to go.
And then the birth goes nothing as planned.
Then what? Feelings of regret and overall disappointment can start to take over your postpartum thoughts and lead to other pervasive feelings. Therefore, I propose that we step out of this head space and start preparing for birth with a BIRTH MAP vs a BIRTH PLAN.
Okay, so now think back to the last time you looked at a map in say a National Park, or Disney World. When you looked at that map you made yourself comfortable with the conditions, what roadblocks you may come up against, and thought about the alternate routes you may have to take to get to your final goal.
You can adhere this same thinking to your BIRTH map. When preparing for your birth you can understand that there are multiple routes to get to your final goal—your baby. These routes may not be the way that you initially thought your birth would play out, but just like a real road trip, things do not always go as planned.
Where does a doula play into this? A doula can help prepare you for your roadblocks or re-routes that you may have to take both during your birth and postpartum period.
What are these roadblocks? Not sure where to start? Shoot me a message at info@4thtrimesterdoula.com.
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