How to write a birth plan: put your wishes down and stay flexible

A birth plan is a short document that tells your team what matters to you during birth. The aim is not to control everything, but to help your team get to know you. A good plan is short, clear and flexible.

Why a birth plan helps

While making the plan you gather information, learn about your options and talk with your partner or support person. This process can ease worry about what might happen. The plan is also a starting point for the conversation with your doctor and midwife.

A plan is not a contract. Birth sometimes takes an unexpected turn; if so, the team looks first at the safety of you and your baby.

What can go into a plan?

The main topics are:

• Setting and support: Who will be with you; lighting, music, noise level
• Movement and position: Moving freely, a birth ball, a shower or a pool
• Pain relief: Drug-free methods and options such as an epidural (covered in a separate article)
• Monitoring: How your baby's heartbeat will be monitored
• The birth itself: Pushing position, cord cutting and who does it
• First hours with your baby: Skin-to-skin contact, wish to breastfeed early
• If you have a caesarean: Partner in the theatre, early contact with your baby
• Afterwards: Staying with your baby, feeding support, visitor preferences

You do not have to cover everything. Choosing the three to five things that matter most is enough.

The value of staying flexible

Birth does not follow a timetable. So treat your plan as a list of preferences:

• Write your first choice, but think about an alternative too.
• Use phrases such as I would prefer rather than I do not want.
• Make sure the plan also covers a caesarean or other intervention.
• If the plan is not followed, remember that it is not your failure.

What matters is that you feel safe and respected at the end.

How to write the plan

1. Gather information first: birth class, hospital tour, trusted sources.
2. Talk with your partner or support person.
3. Write your preferences as short points that fit on one page.
4. Review it with your doctor and midwife between weeks 28 and 38.
5. Keep copies in your hospital bag, your file and with your support person.

You can prepare your preferences in an organised way with the birth plan section in the app.

Sharing the plan with your team

It is not enough to keep a finished plan in your bag; show it to your midwife and doctor and talk through which points are possible at your hospital. If you meet a new team on the day, a short sentence about what matters to you may be enough. Mutual respect and trust are worth far more than a written list.

When to contact your doctor

Whatever your plan says, contact your hospital at once near the birth if you have:

• Bleeding
• Your waters breaking, especially if green, brown or bloody
• A clear drop in your baby's movements
• Regular contractions starting, especially before 37 weeks
• A severe headache, blurred vision or sudden swelling

In an emergency, call 112 (or your local emergency number). Do not try to have the team read your plan in such moments; safety comes first.

What you can do

• Join a hospital tour and ask what is possible.
• Pack your hospital bag using the checklist in the app.
• Tell your support person about your plan; they can speak up for you if needed.
• Review the plan once more close to the birth.
• Think ahead about support with feeding and caring for your baby afterwards.

Whatever your preferences, the way you give birth does not decide your worth. This article is for information only; your doctor's and midwife's advice for your own situation comes first.