Informed decision-making for birth

Why is informed decision-making for birth so important?

Pregnancy is often a woman’s or pregnant person’s first significant experience of the healthcare system. Suddenly, you have to make all sorts of decisions for yourself, your baby and your family, and some of those choices about your care during pregnancy and birth can be difficult. You’ll be influenced by healthcare professionals, family and friends, the media, social media, books, memories and more – all claiming to know what’s best for you and your baby, and often leaving you feeling torn…

Whatever choices you’re considering, you can help yourself make informed decisions that you’ll be happy with and feel empowered by.

One acronym often used in childbirth education and hypnobirthing classes is BRAIN (sometimes BRAINS or BRIAN). It’s a simple way to gather all the information you need to make informed decisions about your own and your baby’s care:

Benefits:
What are the benefits of the treatment or procedure? Is this what is usually done? How do the usual benefits apply to your own individual care?

Risks:
Are there any risks with the treatment or procedure? How do they apply to your own individual care?

Alternatives:
What are the alternatives? Where can you get a second (or third) opinion?

Intuition:
How do you feel about what’s being offered? What does your gut tell you?

Nothing:
What would happen if you did nothing? Is it an emergency? How much time do you have to think about it? Do you need to decide now?

With this simple, memorable acronym, you can make informed decisions without having to memorise all the statistics and research. You’re likely to feel more in control and empowered, and happier with your birth experience – and that’s why informed decision-making for childbirth is so important.

Read more in my post The BRAIN Acronym for Childbirth. If you’d like to prepare at your own pace, my self-paced online childbirth preparation course includes all my antenatal mp3 recordings, the scripts and a 20-page printable workbook.