Making important decisions on the fly
So you’ve got your birth plan in hand, and everything’s going like clockwork, when suddenly something changes.
Whether big or small, decisions you make during your birth can have long range implications for your experience, your health, and your baby. So how do you know you’re making the right choice?
You may or may not have heard of the B.R.A.I.N. acronym. It’s used for decision making, and is an invaluable tool when making important decisions and choices during your labor and birth. Let’s break it down!
Benefits
Questions you can ask your provider:
What are the benefits of this particular intervention? How will this help me? How will this help my baby? What are the short and long-term improvements to my birth experience if I choose this path? Will this improve the situation that I’m currently in? How will this help the specific symptoms that are presenting at this time? How can this improve my chances for vaginal delivery?
Risks
Questions you can ask your provider:
What are the risks of this particular intervention? How could choosing this harm me or my baby? If we do this, what are the chances of future and further interventions? What are the specific side effects of this medication? Could this interfere with my plans for a vaginal delivery? How could this increase my risk of cesarean birth?
Alternatives
Questions you can ask your provider:
What other options are available to me? If we don’t choose this, what could we do instead? Could we try a slightly less invasive procedure? If this medication isn’t something I’mp willing to take, is there another medication that does a similar thing? Is there another choice that maybe has fewer side effects? Is there a lower risk option?
Intuition
Questions to ask yourself:
How do I feel about this possible choice? What is my gut telling me? Based on my research and knowledge, is what I’m being told in alignment with my understanding of what’s best for me and my baby? What is the Holy Spirit telling me? Will spending time in prayer make this decision easier to make?
Nothing
Questions to ask your provider:
What if we do nothing? What if we wait? What happens if we don’t make this choice? If we do nothing, are there risks to me or my baby? Does this decision need to be made right now, or could we revisit this in a couple of hours?
Now you might be thinking that this sounds like a lot to think about, and it is! You may not feel like you can work through this while in an intense laboring state, and you may be right! That is why it’s important to look at this with anyone who plans to be a support for you during your labor: your husband, your doula, or any family member who may be supporting you. That way someone else can ask these questions of the provider, so you don’t have to leave “labor land” for long. Ideally this person knows your priorities, wishes, and can advocate for you during these kinds of circumstances, while making sure you feel seen and heard.
You can even practice using this acronym during your pregnancy, so that it’s not new or unfamiliar when the time comes for labor! It’s also a great tool for assessing pregnancy procedures and tests as well, and so there’s a great value in using it ahead of labor.
Have you used this method before? Did it help? What did you find the most useful? If you’ve never used it before, do you think it will be helpful? Tell me below!
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