Midwifery column: I am going to the birth and take with me ...

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Ready for the delivery room: To what extent can you even plan a birth?

Photo: Cecilia Cartner / Image Source / Getty Images

"What do you think of birth plans?", An expectant mother recently asked me at one of our preventive care appointments.

Well

In theory, they're a good idea if only it wasn't for reality.

There are now many templates for birth plans on the Internet.

In it, expectant mothers (and fathers) record how they imagine the birth, what they want.

It should be a kind of guide for the caring team in the delivery room in the event that the mother - in this exceptional situation - can no longer articulate herself at the crucial moment.

To the author

Agnes Maier,

is a midwife, writer and became a mother herself at the age of 15.

"I was thrown in there. For me that meant: fight or go under!"

She decided to fight and now shares her experiences with the world in the form of texts.  

Basically I can only support a birth plan as a midwife - after all, you should think about certain things, especially with such an important event as the birth of your own child.

Nevertheless, I have my problems with the templates that are circulating on the Internet: Many read like a description of an ideal birth under the best possible conditions.

A pious wish!

But unfortunately often far from reality.

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