Just remember Cherrypie, that you may not get all that much choice on what kind of birth you have in the end. I wanted to be in the water but was induced and warned that I couldn't have a water birth because my waters might need to be broken, I might need an IV etc. However in the end, I didn't need any of those things, but my labour was so damned quick they wouldn't have had time to fill the pool up and in the end I needed an episiotomy so I'd have been hauled out of the water at that point anyway!

While I was pregnant, I had 5 other pregnant friends: only two of us gave birth naturally, one was an elective casear and the other 3 were emergency sections. With the exception of the friend who elected to have a section, the rest of us all were really hoping to give birth naturally without epidurals etc.

My advice, is to get your head around the fact that you're going to have to be flexible and that things might not go your way. That way, if it all goes awry from your birth plan you won't be left feeling totally out of control and traumatised by your experience and remember that just because some aspects of your birth plan don't go the way you want, doesn't mean they all have to. Skin to skin contact, for example is usually achievable, no matter what the circumstances and is really helpful in bonding and establishing breastfeeding.

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"Time flies like an arrow -
Fruit flies like a banana"

M Y - N A U G H T Y - P I C T U R E S ! !