The parenting police came in droves for Lucy Mecklenburgh after the pregnant British actress revealed on Instagram that she doesn’t have a birth plan. Epidural? Soothing music? Mecklenburgh will decide the day her son decides to make his debut.
“Your promotion of being unprepared for pregnancy I think is very dangerous,” one commenter wrote in part.
Nancy Redd, the bestselling author of "Pregnancy, OMG" and the upcoming "Bedtime Bonnet," completely disagrees.
“Everybody is different. For some, a bullet point list of every single thing they desire brings them ease and comfort, for others, it makes it a more stressful situation,” Redd told TODAY Parents. “To not have a birth plan is a perfectly valid choice.”
Redd likens a birth plan to a high school senior writing out their expectations and goals for college.
“You’re gonna get to your senior year of college and go, ‘Well, that didn’t turn out as planned!’” Redd quipped.
Mecklenburgh, who is weeks away from welcoming her first child with her fiancé, Ryan Thomas, hit back against her critics on Wednesday.
“I have never told anyone what to do, just openly & honestly discussed my pregnancy,” she wrote on her Instagram Stories. “Iv had soooo many people say they agree with No Birth plan as they got upset when theirs didn’t go to plan, like most!”
Mecklenburgh noted that at the suggestion of her midwife, she recently attended a prenatal care class.
“I’m glad I understand the process more,” Mecklenburgh explained. “But still think I will go with my gut/mothers instinct when it comes to the day.”