The childbirth process can be unpredictable, but having a birth plan—a document that outlines your wishes for your birthing experience—can help you have a say in what happens during the big day. Maybe you already know exactly what type of birth you hope to have or maybe you're more of a wait-and-see-what-happens type of parent, but a solid, written plan is a helpful tool that allows for a more empowering labor and delivery experience.
What Are Some Common Features?
A birth plan can include everything from pain management preferences to who you want in the room with you when you give birth. Some mothers may even include very specific details, such as if they would like only dim lighting during labor or if they have a certain essential oil they'd like to bring to the hospital with them.
Although birthing plans should be customized to each person, read on for some common features.
1. Pain Management
Some women might prefer to have a natural childbirth, free from medications of any kind. Others might want an epidural as soon as any pain kicks in. Others still might be open to different pain management strategies, depending on what the laboring experience brings and what their care team recommends. Regardless, pain management preferences are typically at the top of the list.
2. Your Birthing Team
Will your partner be present at birth? Are there any other birthing team members you'd like in attendance, such as a doula or birth photographer? Make sure you list them out by name and check with the hospital on any restrictions they may have on the number of people permitted in the labor and delivery room. Many facilities also do not allow photographers or recording.
3. Personal Comfort Requests
This may include things such as wearing your own clothes during labor, having a cultural food item, or listening to a birthing playlist.
4. Baby and Feeding Care
A birth plan can also outline preferences for your baby's immediate post-birth care, including if you'd like to initiate breastfeeding right away or if you'd like you or your partner to perform skin-to-skin with your baby. Also, are there any post-birth procedures you'd like to be present for? Will your partner be cutting the cord?
5. Emergency Plans
It can also be wise to include some instructions for what to do in the event of an emergency, such as if a C-section is necessary. Know that if you are under general anesthesia in an emergency situation, no one else will be allowed into the OR. Safety will always override preferences.
You should share your plan with your doctor before your due date and discuss any of these specific requests. Then, when you go into labor, share it with your birthing team, as well. It will become part of your medical chart, so your care team can easily access it throughout the labor and delivery process.
Why Make a Birth Plan?
For many moms-to-be, creating a childbirth plan is an opportunity to think thoroughly about the types of decisions you might need to make during labor. You may not be able to predict every aspect of your baby's birth, but a birthing plan can provide a framework for what to expect throughout the process.
For Michelle Dowell, CHFP, Senior Usability Engineer at GE, crafting a plan helped her prepare for even the unexpected parts of labor and delivery—which ultimately led her to feel more empowered about the birthing process.
"It felt like I had mentally prepared for all the pathways that birth could potentially take," Dowell explains. "It can be scary, but it made me feel like I had thought through everything. I had some kind of plan in place."
Dowell created her birth plan by doing research on what aspects she should include, then talking through her plans with both her partner and her doctors. She notes that making a plan helped her learn some of the different aspects of labor and delivery on a deeper level.
She included certain medical aspects of her care that were important to her, such as utilizing the Novii wireless patch system so she could move more freely during labor as part of her plan for medication-free pain management—along with an epidural option if she changed her mind—and immediate breastfeeding and skin-to-skin with her baby.
Additionally, Dowell also included some comfort care and personal measures on her birthing plan, such as bringing in her tablet to watch her favorite nature shows that she finds calming and even her own gown to wear during labor.
Is a Birthing Plan Essential?
Birthing plans are entirely optional; your care team isn't going to demand one when you arrive at the hospital. There's also the possibility that you could create the most beautiful, detailed plan ever created, only to have it all thrown out of the window if your labor and delivery process goes sideways.
That's okay—a birth plan is more of a guide than a strict instruction manual. As Dowell points out, your care team isn't going to be focused on what's written on a piece of paper; they're going to be focused on you and your baby's safety.
So, while a well-prepared plan can be a helpful tool, what's most important is communicating with your birthing team and staying flexible throughout the childbirth process if things don't go according to plan.
