 Hi there. I’m Leanna Mae. I’m an author, maternal-infant wellness educator, birth doula, and lactation specialist. I’m also a big fan of birth plans because they are an excellent tool to have notes on what my students/clients want for their birth experience and maternity care. This is the birth plan fill-in form that I use with my doula clients and give to my students. Download the form below. In the blog, I will explain what I want to know and sometimes why I want to know that under each section. Those notes will be written in gray to make it a little easier to see what’s on the actual form (black ink). The birth plan fill-in form Write your overall birth goals in this section.
This is something I like having on the first page. As soon as I look at your birth plan, I want to be reminded of what your goals are. I think this paragraph is a good introduction, at least for me as a doula. What are you looking forward to the most? What are you most excited about? I love to know what families are most excited about. It’s helpful to me to know what those really special things are for them so I can do my best in a support role to help them get that, and also take pictures of those moments for them. How can your care team help you have the health care and birth experience that you want? I really want to know what you want from your care team. What kind of care are you looking for? If you will, share any fears you have. You can communicate these with your care team. This is something that is so helpful to me. It helps me know what to watch for to prevent those fears or help you navigate them with additional support. It gives me a better idea of what kind of support people need. Write any notes of special importance in this section. If someone is a survivor of domestic violence or assault or any kind of trauma, if they’re comfortable sharing that with me here is a place to note that. If a birthing woman does not want any males in the room, let me know here. If this is a rainbow baby or it took a long journey of infertility to get here, these are things to note. STAGE 1: Labor Induction – How do you feel about induction? It is commonly recommended. Make a note of your preferences on it. Induction method if we do induce – Do you have a preference for what you want or don’t want if you do go the induction route? If you have strong feelings about this, let me know. Pain management – What are your pain management plans and how strongly do you feel about that? Movement and positioning – Do you have anything specific in mind that you want to make sure is offered or supported? Augmentation – How do you feel about speeding labor up? Naturally? With medicine or interventions? Is there anything you definitely don’t want? Is there an approach you would prefer? Monitoring and assessing progress – Are you okay with continuous electronic fetal monitoring or do you prefer doppler if heart tones are good? Or do you prefer fetoscope if this is a home birth? Medications – What are your thoughts on routine medications and IV fluids? Food and drink – How do you feel about hospital policies that don’t support eating in labor? Do you plan to bring your own snacks and drinks? Environment – This one is important to me as a doula because part of what a doula does is try to nurture the environment the birthing mother wants. STAGE 2: Delivery of the baby Intended place of delivery – Do you want a waterbirth? Do you think you’ll be most comfortable in bed? Do you want to try a cub or birthing stool? Position – Every provider has their standard preference and it’s often mom on her back with legs up. Are you okay with that? Do you want to deliver in an upright position? Do you want to birth how your body leads you? Pushing – Do you want the staff to direct your pushing or leave you be? Episiotomy – Is this something you are okay with at your provider’s discretion without consent or do you require consent? Or are you not okay with this intervention at all? Instrument assistance – Do you have any preferences on this? Who catches – Would you like your husband to catch? Would you like assistance in pulling your baby out yourself? Other notes on delivery – If there’s anything else you have plans on for delivery, let me know! STAGE 3: Delivery of the placenta (afterbirth) Medication – Sometimes mommas don’t want the standard meds given routinely for stage 3. If you don’t, this is something you need to make known. Cord clamping and cutting – What is your stance on delayed cord cutting? How long do you want to wait? Placenta – Are you planning to do anything with the placenta afterwards? Other notes on stage 3 – Is there anything you want or don’t want regarding the delivery of the placenta? Neonatal care Skin to skin – Skin to skin is often a goal. Do you want your baby to stay on you as much as possible? Golden hour – Have you thought about visitor restrictions in the first hour or so after birth? Feeding – Are you planning on breastfeeding? How long? Are you planning on formula feeding? Do you have a plan for which formula to use? Separation – If you don’t want baby to be taken out of the room without a parent, let them know. It’s common to take baby to a separate room for things like the hearing test. Bathing – Delaying the newborn bath is becoming common practice. How long do you want to delay? Do you want the nurse to bathe or one of the parents? Testing – Is there anything you want to do differently with the standard testing such as the metabolic screening? Medications – Any notes on this? For example, if you don’t want to do the eye ointment or certain shots, note that here. Circumcision – What are your plans for circumcision if you are having a son? Note: This generally only applies to American readers. The U.S. is the only country in the world that does routine infant circumcision. It’s actually illegal in some countries. Other special instructions regarding baby care – Things that could go here would be things like plans to cloth diaper in the hospital. In case of c-section No matter how much a momma wants a natural birth, I do want her to have some back-up plans in case birth takes a different route. OTHER NOTES Is there anything else you want to note for your care team? It could be things like “no students” or letting them know you have a birth photographer. There you have it. That’s a quick run down of the fill-in birth plan I give my students and clients. Download your copy today.
0 Comments
 Imagine being inside a classroom that is inside a prison, and it’s your job to teach the inmates how they can start a business when they get out. What do you think? How do you feel about your students? What kind of potential do you think they have? In the memoir, Lifeline to a Soul, John McLaughlin tells of his years teaching entrepreneurship to prisoners. As a teacher through a community college, John had the opportunity to reach students most of the world doesn’t have access to. Going behind the gates and through the guards, he found aspiring business owners and former business owners with real-world experience in a surprising place. He shares his experiences – both good and bad – working with the prison system and trying to inspire and prepare his students. He shares stories and lessons learned as well as good business advice. If you are interested in small business, this book will be helpful to you. If you are a teacher of any kind, you’ll benefit from the wisdom he shares that applies to all types of classrooms. As an independent teacher myself, I found myself nodding a lot to the things he learned and the challenges he faced. We truly do grow from our students. His passion for teaching is evident. His perseverance is impressive. I have to say I was impressed with the business aspirations of his students. It was heartwarming to hear some of their success stories. I’d like readers to also examine their assumptions about felons and learn some of the things that led people down that path. He even weaves in addressing social issues, risk factors for prison, and ways we can do better at supporting re-entry. Author, John McLaughlin, takes us along his journey painting a well-written picture of his unique time inside a prison, how it affected his students, the success stories, how it affected him, how it grew him as a teacher, and the lessons he learned in his memoir, Lifeline to a Soul. The book releases 2023 April 4th. You can learn more about what John is doing these days to foster inmates turned entrepreneurs at www.LifelineToASoul.com As a teacher and a small business owner myself, I enjoyed this book. I didn’t want to put it down. I was drawn into his story from the first chapter. He details his experience so well I could visualize it in my head and feel the ups and downs I often found myself relating to. Anyone who is interested in teaching or investing in the re-entry population would benefit from reading this book. Click here for the Amazon link.  We are living in the era of shared information. Social media offers an abundance of professionals and experts who share their wisdom to help others. I am thankful for these people and what they freely offer the world. If you have any more accounts you recommend that offer education on women’s health or infant care, comment on the blog. These are some of the accounts that I subscribe to that I find the most helpful for my students/clients. Right click to open in a new window. Midwives
Labor and delivery nurses
Mother/baby (postpartum) nurses
Childbirth educators
Doulas
Baby’s optimal positioning and exercises for an easier birth
Postpartum exercise
Birth photographers
Lactation Pros
Babywearing
Others
And, of course, say hello on my socials at FB: https://www.facebook.com/MaternalinfantWellnessEducation and Insta: https://www.instagram.com/education_with_leanna_mae/ 😊  If you'd like to easily print this, here is a free PDF you can download and save to your phone or computer and print. Doctors and medical providers have recommendations. You have options. If you’ve been presented with a recommendation that you’re not sure on, here is an acronym you can use to help you make a decision. B.R.A.I.N. B stands for benefits. What benefits are there to what is being offered? If it’s a medication or intervention, why is it being recommended? If you decide yes on an issue, what are the potential benefits to going that route? R stands for risks. What are the risks of doing this? All medications have side effects and risks. Most interventions and some testing do as well. Is this relatively safe or does it come with considerable risk? It is important to weigh the risks against each other when weighing multiple options. A stands for alternatives. Are there any alternatives to this option? I stands for information or intuition. Do you need more information? What does your intuition tell you? N stands for nothing. What happens if you do nothing? I will also add mention of prayer in your decision-making process. You can apply this acronym to interventions and you can also apply this thought process to considering the route of no meds or treatment. If your current situation is not an emergency, there should always be time for the patient to make a decision. Only the patient is the rightful decision-maker over what kind of care they receive. Even in an emergency, there should be communication from/with your healthcare team. If you feel you need it, you have the right to take time to think over the decision. What are some situations you have used this in?  Halloween seems to be growing as a hot issue dividing Christians over abstaining or partaking. More and more are choosing to stop celebrating it or attending any related events. I am a former atheist who became a Christian in November of 2005. When the following October came around, I realized I had no desire to have anything to do with my lifelong Halloween traditions. Though I grew up with the average 80s babies Halloween costumes and candy traditions, I had come to associate the holiday with the pagan Samhain I celebrated as a Wiccan. I went through a Wiccan/Pagan phase as a teenager before going back to atheist. Because of that, I knew the history and what it’s really all about. When I became a Christian, I wanted nothing to do with such darkness or anything even related to paganism, witchcraft, evil spirits or ghosts, etc. Yet, at the time, I knew very few Christians who felt the same. I walked away from darkness to follow Jesus. It baffled me that so many who claimed to walk in the light played in darkness for several weeks this time of year. I realize they almost never know the depths of it like someone who was previously on the other side. Let’s dive in. Shall we? I remember having fun dressing up as a kid. When I was in 4th grade, I dressed up as a Christmas tree because I was ready for Christmas. The candy was great. We had fun going trick-or-treating. It seemed innocent. I had no idea it was anything religious. It wasn’t until I was introduced to Wicca at age 14 that I first heard of Samhain. Originally, this was a pagan religious festival with Celtic roots. They celebrated the harvest and prepared for the winter. They also had spiritual beliefs about the veil between the world of the living and the dead/spirits being thin at this time. They had rituals, sacrifices, and offerings. They feared angering their gods if they did not participate in the holiday. They would sometimes dress up as monsters or scary things. Over the years, traditions expanded. Jack-o-lanterns were a Samhain practice. Spirits would be invited and entertained. In the religion of Wicca, Samhain is a big holiday. It’s considered the witch’s New Year. For Wiccans, this holiday is actually part of their religion and something they celebrate. I’ve heard people who identify as witches say this is a sacred holiday for them. At this point, I hope it is clear that Samhain is a spiritual/religious practice and a pagan holiday. So, how does that tie in to Halloween? As Christianity grew, church leaders tried to overtake paganism. One of the ways they did that was by ‘overriding’ their holidays. In the 9th century, the pope of the Catholic church declared All Saints’ Day (also known as All Hallows Day) on November 1st and November 2nd for All Souls’ Day (also known as the Day of the Dead). All Saints’ Day is about celebrating the saints of the Catholic church. This religious practice included praying for the dead and visiting cemeteries. All Souls’ Day is about remembering and honoring the faithful who have died. This includes praying for the dead so they may be lifted out of purgatory into heaven. The pagan practices remained the same despite the introduction of these holidays attempting to switch the time of year’s focus to practices of the Catholic church. With the attempt to make this pagan holiday more Christian, October 31st became All Hallows Eve which later became known as Halloween. Heavily practiced in Ireland and Scotland, immigrants brought the traditions to America. Tricks were commonly played by people who blamed it on fairies. Trick-or-treating became a tradition of dressing in costume, walking from house to house singing for the dead, and homeowner’s gifting cakes as a treat. Throughout the years, these pagan practices became part of American culture too. It’s so ingrained in our culture that many do not see it as a spiritual practice at all. It’s simply carrying on the traditions of their own childhood and having fun with their families. It is clear that Halloween is a pagan spiritual practice regarding the dead, the mystical, the spirits, false gods, and witchcraft. The question is: Should Christians partake in pagan spiritual practices? What about just the fun stuff such as costumes, candy, and trick-or-treating without celebrating any of the spiritual beliefs that contradict the Christian faith?? Can you even do that anymore? Is it even possible to partake in the “innocent” aspects without exposure to dark things and anti-Christian practices? Every year it seems Halloween gets darker. The decorations get more and more morbid. Disturbing scenes fill the yards and houses all across America. The costumes get more wicked. The crime gets worse. The sick and twisted things they show on TV get even more gruesome. People and pets are harmed. Children are poisoned and endangered from drugs and nails and such in their candy. All things occult increase: witchcraft, spells, tarot cards, Ouija boards, mediums, divination, horoscopes, and such things. How desensitized are you to the blatant darkness of Halloween? Do you even notice anymore when blood and gore and fake dead bodies decorate your street? Have you noticed more open Satanism, Wicca, witchcraft, and pagan rituals being publicly practiced? Satanists do not celebrate Halloween as a religious practice, but they certainly have some interesting quotes on those who do celebrate it. Their website acknowledges Halloween as embracing darkness and releasing their demonic cores. “Satanists embrace what this holiday has become, and do not feel the need to be tied to ancient practices. This night, we smile at the amateur explorers of their own inner darkness, for we know that they enjoy their brief dip into the pool of the “shadow world.”” is a quote from the holiday section of their FAQ on the Church of Satan website. More and more people who worship the devil and practice witchcraft or magick are using Halloween to celebrate their ways. In some cities, Satanic churches offer Halloween events to introduce people to their religion. What are you entertaining yourself with? Are you decorating with things that symbolize darkness and evil? Are you watching movies about witchcraft and demons? Are you dressing up as something that would cast you into hell if you actually lived that way? What you entertain yourself with says a lot about what’s in your heart. Many make excuses to partake in Halloween. The candy is innocent. The costumes are cute. The kids have fun going trick-or-treating. The older folks have fun passing out candy. Not participating would mean the kids are missing out. People will think you’re judgmental if you’re against it. You’ll offend people if you don’t join in. The scripture speaks for itself. True Christians who are following Jesus should not be walking in darkness even if it’s a widely celebrated holiday. SCRIPTURES Sorcery and witchcraft
Beware the deception
Darkness
Holiness and separation
Celebrating and partaking in the things that are against God affect your relationship with God. Yes, it does. Is it worth it to walk away from Jesus to partake in a witch’s holiday and pagan practices that go against the truth of God… so that you can have fun? Is it worth it to risk dabbling in witchcraft and sorcery if those who practice such things go to hell? Realize there are spiritual implications to Halloween. This is not just a costume. This is more than candy. Is it worth it to teach your children to practice what the bible clearly says will send them to hell? And what message does it send if they can dress up as a witch for Halloween and it’s fun, but if they grow up to actually practice witchcraft they will be thrown into the fires of hell? The enemy wants to take your children captive before they are even old enough to live for the Lord. He wants to plant roots in their mind that his ways are fun and the Lord’s ways of holiness are restrictive. Plant those thoughts young and it’s easy to get them to rebel against the church. Desensitize them to the occult. That way when they see these warnings from the bible right in front of their eyes, they’ll be less likely to feel conviction because they’re used to seeing it. They’ve grown up with it all around them. Their parents let it into the house. Maybe their church even let it in the parking lot (trunk or treat). Even if they feel convicted, the strength of it will fade the more it is normalized in their life. Eventually, they will probably entertain themselves with it and what they entertain is what will enter their mind and ultimately their hearts. That is one reason we must keep ourselves separate. It’s dangerous to water down our reaction to what could endanger our soul. The devil has done well at watering down the perception of dark practices. Television has exposed us casually for decades. Children’s shows and books and toys have introduced kids to friendly and fun sorcery (Harry Potter, anyone?). Disney movies excellently portray the things of darkness to be entertaining. Animation and costumes make it lightheartedly safe for children. Spell books are now sold in mainstream stores such as Walmart to children for Halloween. People think it’s a joke. I remember being a Wiccan who had spell books. I remember casting spells. I remember practicing witchcraft. I assure you these things are not just a joke. They are of the devil! You cannot pursue holiness and partake in Halloween at the same time. There are many who consider themselves Christian, but they have mixed their life with the occult practices in our culture. They watch Hocus Pocus, entertain themselves with witches and demons for fun, dress up like devils, take part in the dark and spooky, dance with evil spirits, do witchy things as part of their culture like it has no impact on their religion, and many of these believers go to church. Some even lead churches. There are pastors, ministers, entire churches who practice paganism. Woe to them for giving acceptance to such things and go against God to dabble in paganism and sorcery for a season. The devil has ensnared so many Christians into the pit of Halloween that the enemy can now boast he has Christians defending his side. Even the non-Christians know this is pagan. Even the atheists wonder why Christians partake in Halloween. Even the witches question the authenticity of their Christian friend’s faith when they join in on the witch’s big holiday. Yet Christians now boldly proclaim their offense at being judged for this wicked participation. They cry with a social media victim card clearly having no concern for the coming day that their soul is judged by the one who determines heaven or hell. And these “Christians” are out here attacking those Christians who abstain. If that’s not the schemes of the devil getting the “church folk” to pressure people to join his kingdom. Meanwhile, the other side of Christians often walks on egg shells terrified to be labeled offensive for abstaining from what they feel is wicked. They hide their convictions as much as they fear the social reaction to the word “holiness”. A few sound the alarm. There is a spiritual impact to this practice. Is it worth the fun to partake in the witch’s holiday and pagan practices? No more than the pleasure of sin is worth condemning your soul for eternity. You should find the nature of this darkness repulsive. This practice is increasingly vile! You should be disturbed by the things of darkness. Are you? Have nothing to do with occult practices. Don’t dabble. Don’t mingle. Don’t even have the appearance of being involved. Come out from among them. Be separate. Repent and cleanse yourself from the defilement. Be holy.  There is a very old recipe on how to make pickles. If you’re familiar with canning, you know that pickles are cucumbers put into a solution (recipe) that turns them into pickles. What does that have to do with baptism? In my book, The Subject of Salvation, I share the neat language lesson that the words baptize and baptism are actually transliterations. They are Greek words that have been transliterated into English. Baptize is a transliteration of the Greek word baptizo which means to immerse. The root word is bapto which means to dip. The ‘o’ was changed to an ‘e’ to give us our verb baptize; a verb is an action word. The noun form is the Greek word baptisma which is where we get our word baptism. In modern times, there is some controversy over whether baptism requires full immersion or whether sprinkling/pouring on water is acceptable. In the early church, they fully immersed someone in baptism. That is why we Apostolic Pentecostals still baptize by immersion. We practice what the early church did. The New Testament was written in Greek. The Greek-speaking people understood the instruction to be baptized is an instruction to be immersed and go fully under in the water. But did you know the word baptize used to be used in other contexts? Around 200B.C. there was a Greek poet and physician, Nicander of Colophon (modern day Turkey), who had a recipe for making pickles. In this recipe, the instruction was to bapto (dip) the cucumber in boiling water and then baptize (immerse) it in a vinegar solution. The dip in boiling water would cleanse the outside. Immersing it in vinegar is what transforms it to a pickle. Once these cucumbers were baptized in the solution, they became pickles. They were transformed. Their nature was changed. They could never go back to the way they were before. Acts 2:38 (KJV) Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. When I learned about this recipe, my thought was “Be immersed in the name of Jesus”. How powerful is that perspective? Be immersed. Be immersed in the name of the Lord. Be changed. It changes our nature when we immerse ourselves in following Jesus. Be changed. Become a new creature. Go down in the water in the name of Jesus and come up cleansed. Be transformed. Then I thought about the verses referencing the baptism of the Holy Ghost. Wow. That’s fire. What happens if a person immerses themselves in the Holy Spirit? The point of this blog is to address the controversy over whether baptism requires immersion, but I wanted to share those powerful thoughts about immersing ourselves in the name of Jesus and the Holy Ghost. We are buried with Christ and raised with Christ when we get baptized in his name (Romans 6:3-8). We are a new creation when we are in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). We can never go back to our former ignorance. We are changed. We are transformed. Our nature is different. After baptism, let’s live in a way that we are immersed in the name of Jesus. If you’d like to learn more about baptism, there is a bible study on my website here.   Be adorned. Be adorned appropriately for a woman professing holiness. This message was strongly spoken to me as I was almost asleep. What did it mean? I knew the scripture laid on my heart at the time it was spoken, but I realized I didn’t have full understanding of it. I had been studying the topic of jewelry and where to draw the line with accessories. It went along with my modesty blog and the series I had planned. My plans were to study and address the specific topics. When I thought of a woman adorned, I had an image in mind. I pictured big diamonds, gold, expensive jewelry, high-cost clothes, a painted face, Hollywood name brands, riches. I felt the need to look up the definition of adorned. Doing so changed my whole perspective on this topic. What does it mean to be adorned? As a worldly woman? As a godly woman? 1 Timothy 2:9-10 (American Standard Version) In like manner, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefastness and sobriety; not with braided hair, and gold or pearls or costly raiment; but (which becometh women professing godliness) through good works. 1 Peter 3:3-4 (American Standard Version) Whose adorning let it not be the outward adorning of braiding the hair, and of wearing jewels of gold, or of putting on apparel; but let it be the hidden man of the heart, in the incorruptible apparel of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price. To adorn is defined as “to make more beautiful or attractive”. Synonyms: enhance, beautify, prettify, embellish, and bejewel. Ornament and “add ornament to” are also listed. What is an ornament? Noun: a thing used to make something look more attractive but usually having no practical purpose Verb: make (something) look more attractive by adding decorative items Are earrings an ornament??? I had never thought of it that way. For so many years, I interpreted these two scriptures, 1 Peter 3:1-5 and 1 Timothy 2:9-10, that it was about being flashy. I thought of it as a principle of how we shouldn’t look rich or be showing off. No dripping in diamonds. No sporting gold chains like the world. No expensive jewelry. No elaborate hairstyles (I later learned that back then women would braid jewels and fancy things into their hair to show off). We shouldn’t set our desires on worldly riches and symbols of status. It also could deter people from joining others at church if people seem to be of higher income status than the visitors. Be modest. Be humble in our appearance. Let’s not be all about our looks. Character matters more. I still agree with that. I still think that’s an accurate interpretation and a guideline we should live by. I think there’s more to it though. Adornment is more than a list of items not to wear. I had never even questioned these things before I started going to an Apostolic Pentecostal church. I’d read these verses before, but never studied them. I’d never heard them taught before. I used to wear a lot of jewelry and I always wore makeup. For years, I did not want to leave the house without makeup. I was uncomfortable with people seeing my naked skin, redness and flaws. Not having any jewelry on made me feel like I wasn’t fully dressed. I put my earrings in as part of putting my outfit on. I’d wear a wrist full of bracelets and often a necklace sometimes two at a time. It made me feel prettier. I felt more confident when I was done up. Even after becoming Apostolic (in 2011) and starting to dress modestly, I still continued with the cosmetics and accessories. I cut back a lot. I was more natural with the makeup, less eye-catching. I took out my 2nd and 3rd earrings leaving just the first hole because I thought that was more modest. I wore jewelry a lot less than I did before (because I felt expected to not wear it at all). I considered following the traditional Apostolic way with the no jewelry or cosmetics, but I didn’t understand why they did it. I didn’t see it in scripture, and I had no conviction on it for many years.
|
Thank you for visiting!
Have you read my beautiful books yet? 
|
