Birth mapping
Birth mapping is a new way to approach how we plan for birth. It was developed by Catherine Bell and is a document that is created over several weeks throughout pregnancy to help families have informed decision making during their births.
Birth is unpredictable. We cannot concretely predict or plan how birth will go; but this does not mean that we should just go with the flow or whatever happens, happens. When we approach birth with either no plan at all, or a very rigid plan, then we may find ourselves in an unexpected situation that we don’t know our options and are adding to the stress of an already stressful situation by trying to figure out what we want to do in the moment.
Birth mapping explores various paths that birth may take, and helps families figure out their course of action at each possible decision point. By exploring your options at various decision points prior to birth, you can fully understand all of your options, understand the standard operating procedures of your birth location, and gather recommendations from your provider on how they may guide you through the situation. This creates an opportunity for your to make an informed choice if the situation arises and allows you to have open conversation with your provider prior to birth.
Recommended 3 Birth Mapping
So, what does birth mapping look like?? Catherine Bell recommends creating three maps:
Your fast pathway: the path where you give birth before arriving where you plan to give birth, aka car birth or unassisted at home
Your expected pathway: the path where you give birth in the way that you generally plan to outside of an emergent or unexpected situation. There can be unexpected scenarios in this path, but the path generally follows your overall birth path (vaginal birth, C-section, induction)
Your contingent pathway: the path where things don’t go how you plan, such as if you were planning a vaginal birth, this would be your plan for a C-section. If you were planning a c-section, this would be your plan if you went into labor prior to your scheduled C-section.
In each of these paths (Birth Mapping), you will explore different routes your birth may take. With each route, you will research and educate yourself on the different options that are available. So, this may be taking a childbirth education course, speaking with your provider in depth on your options, or researching online.
For example: if you plan to have a spontaneous vaginal birth, but a possible route that your birth could take may include an induction for a pregnancy complication. What questions do we need to find answers for as we develop what our course of action would be in this route?
Questions could include: What complications would your provider recommend induction? What week of pregnancy would an induction be recommended to be scheduled? What other monitoring options are available other than induction? What options are available for induction in your birth location? This list is not inclusive either! There are so many more answers we need to find.
So, you can see how there are so many questions that could be explored with just the induction route that would help you conduct more research and ask more questions with your provider. Now, with this new route mapped out, if you developed a prenatal complication and the recommendation was induction: you have already explored what your options are; you have already talked to your provider on your preferences; and now you and your partner can navigate this unexpected situation with empowerment and confidence.
Birth mapping is a more extensive and thorough way to plan for birth. Rather than a checklist of yes and no, it is a map filled with routes and avenues that birth may go that we have explored during pregnancy so that you already know what your options are, have had the conversations with your provider, and can feel informed and confident going into your birth.