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![Proud 'birthzilla' ... Prue and her husband pre-baby.](/web/20160517102607im_/http://www.essentialbaby.com.au/content/dam/images/2/0/t/a/l/image.related.landscape.300x200.20rr6.png/1340350843503.jpg)
Birthzilla? Pass me the badge
A birth plan is about putting it in writing that a woman's body is to be treated with respect and dignity by her caregivers
![Skin-to-skin contact after birth may improve the breastfeeding relationship.](/web/20160517102607im_/http://www.essentialbaby.com.au/content/dam/images/2/0/i/d/s/image.related.landscape.300x200.20idn.png/1340257814200.jpg)
In defence of birth plans
Birthzillas, Bridezillas and perhaps all ‘Zillas’ are bad news. It’s amusing stuff, but the thing is, birth plans are helpful for many parents, and an increasing number of obstetricians and midwives request them. There are a number of reasons for this.
![mia-freedman-90x60](/web/20160517102607im_/http://www.essentialbaby.com.au/content/dam/images/1/6/r/e/y/image.related.landscape.300x200.16rcv.png/1327399913787.jpg)
Mia Freedman
Tales of the unexpected
If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans. If you want to make a midwife laugh, tell her your birth plan. I'd always mocked birth plans, even before having a baby myself and most certainly afterwards.
![Labouring woman](/web/20160517102607im_/http://www.essentialbaby.com.au/content/dam/images/v/c/c/j/image.related.landscape.300x200.vati.png/1340155713067.jpg)
Are birth plans a waste of time?
As the final weeks of my pregnancy creep by it's time to pack my bags and contemplate going through labour again. But this time one part of my preparations will be missing. I won't waste my time writing a birth plan. Because I know now the idea that I have any control over how my labour goes is an absolute crock.
![homebirth_420](/web/20160517102607im_/http://www.essentialbaby.com.au/content/dam/images/e/4/4/l/image.related.landscape.300x200.e44b.png/1287528993457.jpg)
It's a woman's right to choose how she births
In five months' time, if my pregnancy progresses without complication, I will birth my second child at home, attended by two registered private midwives. If I'd become pregnant a mere six months later, this carefully researched, intensely personal decision would have been far more tenuous.
![Pregnancy Care](/web/20160517102607im_/http://www.essentialbaby.com.au/content/dam/images/8/1/b/4/image.related.landscape.300x200.2bj2.png/1282545510800.jpg)
Preparing for labour
You are approaching the end of your pregnancy and it is time to get ready for that important moment when labour begins.
![midwife_90x60](/web/20160517102607im_/http://www.essentialbaby.com.au/content/dam/images/e/g/5/9/image.related.landscape.300x200.2bj3.png/1282545870407.jpg)
Your birth plan
These days you and your partner can play a far more active role in your pregnancy, labour and birth.
![Are birth plans a waste of the paper they're written on?](/web/20160517102607im_/http://www.essentialbaby.com.au/content/dam/images/2/v/v/x/image.related.landscape.300x200.2u1g.png/1381276473780.jpg)
The Juggle Blog
Why you need a birth plan
Are birth plans a waste of the paper they’re written on? Mia Freedman starts thinking about what she’s going to do in the delivery room this time around.
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