Writing your birth plan

While you can’t know for certain what will happen during your labour and birth, writing a birth plan gives you a greater chance of having the birth experience you want.

What is a birth plan for?

Before the birth
• Writing a birth plan encourages you to think about what you really want for your labour and birth and to find out about the options available.
• It puts your birth partner in the picture so she or he can respond appropriately to you or speak up for you during the labour and birth.

At the birth
• A birth plan helps to set the ‘tone’ for the sort of labour and birth you’re hoping for.
• It focuses your midwife on your needs, so she can help you make the right decisions if you’re unable to communicate well during labour.
• It gives you confidence that your personal needs are being considered, which helps you to relax and labour better.

After the birth
• The fact of having had a birth plan can help you feel more at ease with how things went, even if they didn’t turn out just the way you hoped.
• If you don’t feel your labour and birth were handled well and you want to make a complaint, you have a document to refer to.

How do you write a birth plan?

There's absolutely no set formula, but we've created an easy-to-understand birth plan template for you to download for free and complete. This is two pages, but if you want to write your own, it can be as brief or as detailed as you like. But it probably needs to cover the following issues:

Who will be with you during your labour
• Do you want a special birthing partner or partners?
• Do you only want female midwives to care for you?
• What about a student midwife?

Labour and birth
• Are there birth positions you’d like to try?
• How do you feel about being induced if need be?
• How do you feel about having an episiotomy, ventouse or forceps delivery, or caearean?

Pain relief
• What are your preferences?
• Would you consider an epidural? This requires an anaesthetist, so advanced notice is needed.
• Do you want to be mobile during labour?
• Is there anything you’re particularly frightened of and want to avoid, such as needles?

What happens straight after birth
• Do you want to see the sex of your baby for yourselves rather than be told?
• Does your partner want to cut the cord?
• Do you want your baby put straight to your breast?
• Do you want to deliver the placenta naturally (known as a physiological third stage)?
• Have you arranged for your baby's cord blood to be collected?
• Do you and your partner want to be left alone straight after the birth?

Important pregnancy health and background info
• Are there any conditions your carers should know about?
• Have you been tested for Group B Strep?
• Are you Rhesus negative?

Think about all these things well in advance. You’ll then discover what you don’t know and you’ll have time to find out, either through the hospital, your antenatal teacher, other mums or your midwife.

Tips for writing an effective birth plan

The following tips can help make your birth plan effective:

• Bring your partner into it if he wants to be actively involved.
• Write it in conjunction with your birthing partner, so they can speak up for you if necessary.
• Pack your birth plan in your hospital bag in advance - and remember to hand it in, however bad your contractions!
• Explain why you want or don’t want something, as well as what you do or don’t want.

What if you change your mind?

Don’t worry, birth plans aren’t set in stone. You can still express different preferences as your labour progresses - and your midwife or obstetrician will use their judgment, too.

Download our free, easy-to-follow birth plan here