Briggs Birth Plan

Briggs Birth Plan-

     Our unborn baby Brigham has been diagnosed with Anencephaly and we have chosen to go as long as possible throughout pregnancy to give him the best life possible.  We are hoping for some time with him alive once he is here, but also know that sometimes these babies don't make it.  Either way, we want minimal interruptions with baby and want to be able to be with our baby as long as possible.

Birth plan:

1. We have chosen to have a Vaginal Birth and not c-section.  With that decision we would like to have mom's contractions monitored the entire delivery.  We would also like fetal heart tone monitoring until or if there are declines, then it is okay to take it off.

Pain control:

2. When possible we would like an epidural placed as soon as possible after admittance to the labor and delivery unit.  If epidural does not work I would like IV pain medication if necessary, or alternative positions of comfort to ease the pain.

Medications given:

3.  We would like steroids given as soon as possible to increase Brigham's lung capacity.  We would also like strep-antibiotics given before birth due to previous baby that had complications from not getting the antibiotic.  I have history of being strep B positive and had a baby that was born with pneumonia.

Laboring Process:

4.  We know these babies tend to be born breech and can have complications from that.  We would like to have mom dilate to 10 and rest and descend for as long as possible before pushing.  While pushing we would appreciate help in making sure we are pushing appropriately to decrease chance of problems to mom from pushing too long (i.e., risk of c-section, vaginal swelling, further unneeded vaginal tearing).

Delivery of baby:

5.  Once baby arrives we would like immediate suction of nose than mouth to increase for optimal breathing.  We would also like immediate bandage and hospital hat applied to our precious Brigham's head to provide some privacy to his deformity.  We would also love him to be weighed if he has no signs of distress, but if he does we would then like to hold him immediately wrapped in warm blankets before any bath.  

Mother post Birth care:

6.  We would love to have mom stitched up as soon as possible if needed and have minimal checks to be able to spend quality time holding our sweet Brigham.  We would also like to stay in labor room if possible to provide more time with our Brigham.  If after family has seen him and he is doing okay and stable at that time we would be fine to move rooms.  

Baby post birth care:

7.  We would like to hold our precious Brigham as much as possible without interruptions.  As a family we would love to bathe him and dress him in clothes that we have brought. Other than initial suctioning, we would like only comfort care given to baby.  If Brigham is living for awhile and wanting or rooting than we would love a bottle to try to feed, but we have chosen to not breastfeed.  We would love any prints or molds to remember our sweet Brigham after he has died.

Ceremony

8. We ask that a special ceremony be performed in accordance to our religious beliefs once Brigham is born.  We will have male family members and Dad give sweet Brigham a blessing, where we ask for no interruptions for a couple minutes.

Photography

9.  We have hired a professional photographer to capture the beautiful arrival of Brigham.  We will have her capture part of labor and delivery of Brigham.  We will also have her capture moments with family and sisters of sweet Brigham after.  We will also have a video camera at head of bed videoing delivery.

Family/Visitors

10.  We want our sweet family to meet our precious Brigham hopefully alive.  So we would like our daughters and family to be waiting in a room when laboring occurs.  Once Brigham arrives we would like each side of our family to come in all at once and take pictures and meet beautiful Brigham, then after that we would ask to have minimal visitors or interruptions so that us and our girls can enjoy Brigham in privacy. 

We are hoping that our sweet Brigham will make it long enough if possible to be able to take him home and let him die there, but if that is not possible and he dies in the hospital we have picked ANDERSON MORTUARY from American fork as our funeral home.  Their contact information is-801-756-3564.  We know that in order to be discharged home you will need to contact our pediatrician, which is Dr. Anderson from Utah Valley Pediatrics.

We are members of Angel Watch and would love you to contact Heather Walker and Jackie Burks as soon as we are admitted to the hospital.

We would like to thank everyone involved in the sweet care of Brigham and being part of his sweet and tender life.  We love him with all our hearts and hope that anyone who has had contact with him and through this experience we can all be better people because of this little boy.