Your Personalized Birth Planning Guide

Creating a thoughtful birth plan empowers you to communicate your preferences and helps ensure a more positive birth experience

Why Create a Birth Plan?

A birth plan isn't about controlling every aspect of your birth experience—it's about becoming an active participant in your care. By thoughtfully considering your preferences and communicating them clearly, you create an opportunity for meaningful dialogue with your healthcare providers.

Did You Know?

Research shows that having a birth plan can lead to increased satisfaction with your birth experience, regardless of whether everything goes according to plan. The process of creating the plan helps you understand your options and prepares you for making informed decisions during labor.

As adult learners, we know that you're motivated by personal growth and want to apply new information directly to your life. This birth planning guide is designed with these principles in mind—offering practical, evidence-based information that you can immediately use to prepare for your birth journey.

Key Elements of an Effective Birth Plan

While every birth is unique, these core elements can help you create a comprehensive plan that addresses your most important preferences:

Labor Environment Preferences - Consider lighting, music, mobility, and who you want present
Pain Management Approaches - From medication-free techniques to epidural preferences
Positions for Labor and Delivery - Options beyond the traditional hospital position
Interventions - Your preferences regarding monitoring, IVs, and potential medical interventions
Immediate Postpartum Care - Skin-to-skin contact, delayed cord clamping, and first hours with baby
Newborn Care - Feeding plans, bathing preferences, and other early care decisions
Special Circumstances - Preferences in case a cesarean birth becomes necessary

The "B.R.A.I.N." Decision-Making Framework

When unexpected decisions arise during labor, remember this helpful acronym:

Benefits - What are the benefits of this intervention?
Risks - What are the potential risks?
Alternatives - Are there other options to consider?
Intuition - What does your intuition tell you?
Nothing - What if we do nothing or wait?

The Research Behind Birth Planning

Research consistently demonstrates the value of birth planning as a tool for improving communication and birth satisfaction:

A 2018 study published in the journal Birth found that women who created birth plans reported feeling more in control during labor and had higher overall satisfaction with their birth experience, even when their births deviated from their original plans (Hidalgo-Lopezosa et al., 2018).

The process of creating a birth plan helps expectant parents understand their options and the potential scenarios they might encounter. This knowledge alone can reduce anxiety and increase confidence.

Research by Pennell et al. (2020) in the Journal of Perinatal Education found that the educational process of developing a birth plan was more valuable than the document itself, as it facilitated important conversations between birthing people and their care providers.

Birth plans also serve as effective communication tools with your healthcare team, especially in busy labor and delivery settings where staff changes are common.

According to a 2021 review in Midwifery, birth plans can bridge communication gaps and help ensure continuity of care, particularly in hospital settings where multiple providers may be involved in your care (DeBaets, 2021).

Our Simple, Effective Birth Plan Template

We've created an easy-to-use birth plan template based on the latest research and feedback from hundreds of families. Click on the image to download the PDF version that you can fill out and share with your care providers.

Download Full Birth Plan PDF

Tips for Using Your Birth Plan Effectively

Review your birth plan with your healthcare provider at a prenatal appointment
Keep it concise (1-2 pages maximum)
Focus on your most important preferences rather than trying to address every possibility
Consider bringing multiple copies for different shifts of care providers
Remember that flexibility is key—birth is unpredictable, and your plan may need to adapt

Birth Planning as a Learning Journey

Creating a birth plan aligns perfectly with adult learning principles. You're drawing on your existing knowledge and experiences, applying new information to a real-life situation, and engaging in self-directed learning that has immediate relevance to your life.

As you work through your birth plan, you're not just checking boxes—you're reflecting deeply on your values and preferences, researching options, and potentially transforming your understanding of birth.

Remember that birth planning is not about creating a rigid script for your birth to follow. Rather, it's about becoming an informed, empowered participant in your care who can adapt to the journey as it unfolds.

Next Steps

After downloading your birth plan template:

Set aside dedicated time to research and reflect on your preferences
Discuss your draft with your partner and/or support person
Schedule a conversation with your healthcare provider to review your plan
Make any needed adjustments based on your provider's feedback
Keep a copy in your hospital bag and share it with your birth team