How to Write a Birth Plan: What to Include and Why It Matters
Your birth plan is not about mapping every second of your birth. Because the truth is, birth can be unpredictable. Your preferences may stay exactly as you imagined them, or circumstances may change and require you to make different decisions.
So why make a birth plan at all?
Birth preparation isn't about controlling your birth. It's about understanding your options, knowing what matters to you, and communicating those preferences with the people supporting you.
A birth plan gives you an opportunity to think through those choices before you're in the middle of labor, so let’s talk about it.
What Is a Birth Plan?
A birth plan is a simple way to communicate your preferences for labor, birth, and the immediate postpartum period with your partner, doula, and medical team.
It can include things like:
How you'd like to manage sensations during labor
Movement and positioning preferences
Your preferences around medical interventions and how they are introduced
Who you'd like involved in your care
How you'd like your medical team to communicate with you
Newborn procedure preferences
What is important to you if your original plan needs to change
Think of it less like a contract and more like a conversation starter. Your birth plan can help your team understand what matters to you so they can support you as decisions arise. We sometimes even call them our birth values as plans can change, but values do not.
Your Birth Plan Isn't a Promise
One of the biggest misconceptions about birth plans is that creating one means you're expecting everything to go exactly according to plan.
That's not the goal.
You can have a birth plan and still be completely open to changing course if circumstances change. For example, you might prefer to avoid an epidural but decide during labor that you would like one. You might hope for a vaginal birth but ultimately need a cesarean birth. You might want minimal interventions but discover that an induction or another intervention becomes medically necessary.
Changing your plan doesn't mean you failed.
A good birth plan leaves room for flexibility while still making sure your preferences and values are understood.
Start With What Matters Most to You
Before filling out a birth plan template, take some time to think about your priorities.
Ask yourself:
What helps me feel safe? What helps me feel calm and supported?
What do I want my care team to know about me?
What decisions do I want to understand before I'm in labor?
What are the things I feel strongly about?
You don't need to have an opinion about every possible birth intervention. Instead, focus on the areas that are most important to you.
Think Through Your Comfort Measures
Your birth plan can include the ways you'd like to work through contractions and labor.
You might want to include preferences for:
Movement and changing positions
Birth balls or peanut balls
Shower or hydrotherapy
Massage and counterpressure
Hip squeezes
Breathing techniques
A labor comb or other comfort tools
TENS
Music or a calming environment
Your partner or doula providing hands-on support
Medication or an epidural, if desired
You can also write down what you'd like your support team to try before immediately offering medication or other interventions, if that is important to you.
The more you practice these techniques before birth, the easier it can be to reach for them when you're actually having contractions.
Consider Communication and Consent
One of the most valuable parts of a birth plan can be communicating how you want to participate in decisions about your care.
You might include preferences such as:
Asking for consent before any checks or procedures
Having time to ask questions when circumstances allow
Using your BRAINS framework to make decisions
Having your partner involved in conversations
Knowing all your options before consenting to an intervention
You can also write a short note to your medical team.
Something as simple as:
“We appreciate your support and expertise. Please explain our options and give us an opportunity to ask questions whenever circumstances allow. We want to work together to make informed decisions throughout our birth.”
Your birth plan doesn't need to tell your provider how to practice medicine. It can simply help communicate how you'd like to participate in your care.
Don't Forget the Newborn Preferences
Birth planning doesn't stop once baby is born.
Consider your preferences for newborn procedures and the first moments after birth, including topics such as:
Immediate skin-to-skin
Delayed cord clamping
Newborn medications and procedures
Feeding preferences
Who cuts the cord
Keeping baby with you when possible
Circumcision, if applicable
What happens if baby needs additional care, does your birth partner follow baby or stay by your side?
You may not know what you want for every item yet, and that's okay. Your birth plan can actually help you identify the questions you want to discuss with your provider before your baby's birthday.
Keep It Short and Easy to Read
Your medical team may be caring for several patients during your birth. A birth plan that's five pages long and filled with paragraphs can be difficult to quickly reference.
We recommend keeping your final birth plan simple, clear, and easy to scan. Think one page, front and back if you really need for ‘C-section preferences’. Use short sections and bullet points.
Highlight the preferences that are most important to you.
And remember: your birth plan doesn't need to include everything you've learned about birth. It should communicate your preferences.
Share It Before Labor
Don't wait until you're in labor to introduce your birth plan. Talk through it with your doula and provider during pregnancy and ask questions about anything you're unsure about.
You can also share it with your partner and birth team so everyone supporting you understands your priorities. This is especially helpful because your partner and doula can help remind you of your preferences when you're focused on labor.
Your doula doesn't make medical decisions for you, but they can help you stay grounded, remind you of your options, and support communication between you and your care team. Read our article on how birth doulas can hep you have a the best birthing experience.
What Happens If Your Birth Plan Changes?
This might be the most important part of birth planning:
Your birth plan is a tool, not a test.
Birth sometimes asks us to make decisions we didn't expect to make. If something changes, you can pause when the situation allows, ask questions, understand your options, and make the best decision you can with the information available to you. Read our blog on how to use the BRAINS tool.
You can still have a positive and empowering birth experience even when your birth doesn't look exactly like the one you imagined.
The goal isn't a perfect birth. The goal is to feel informed, supported, respected, and involved in your care.
Ready to Create Your Birth Plan?
We've made this process easier with our Breezy Birth Plan Template.
Our one-page Canva template gives you an easy starting point that you can personalize to your own preferences. It includes space for:
✨ Important birthing person information
✨ Comfort measure preferences
✨ Early labor preferences
✨ Active labor preferences
✨ Newborn procedure preferences
✨ A personal note to your medical team
You can edit it, make it your own, and bring it with you when you meet with your care team.
And if you're looking for even more preparation, A Breezy Birth, our on-demand childbirth education course, walks you through the tools, techniques, and decisions that can help you feel more prepared for labor and birth.
Because the goal isn't to know exactly how your birth will unfold. It's to walk into it knowing your options and having a toolbox ready.
Ready to start preparing?
Start with our FREE A Breezy Birth Mini Course to get an introduction to the tools and education we use to help families feel more prepared. Then, when you're ready to dive deeper, explore the full A Breezy Birth experience.
We are here to help you have A Breezy Birth. Gain all the tools and skills you need. We can’t wait to see you in the course!
