What to include in your birth plan
If you’re not sure what to add to your birth plan for a hospital birth, this blog post is for you.
A birth plan is a document that outlines your wishes for the labor, delivery, and postpartum period of childbirth. You’ll write it during your pregnancy and bring it with you to the hospital when you arrive to give birth. It’s a guide for your healthcare team on how to best support your childbirth experience.
A birth plan can include information about pain management, medical interventions, birthing positions, feeding preferences for the newborn. Keep in mind that a birth plan is not a rigid set of instructions, but a flexible tool that can help communication between you and your healthcare provider.
I can’t speak to a home birth, but I would guess that a home birth plan would be similar, just with notes for contingencies like needing to go to the hospital. Just work with your midwife, doula, or whoever is assisting with the birth so you know what to expect.
Have your birth plan written around the 20 week mark and bring it to one of your scheduled appointments to go over with your doctor. Your doctor will walk you through any concerns and let you know if any expectations might need to be managed. This will give you time to make edits and reprint it to put into your hospital bag in time for the birth.
Here are some things you might want to add to your birth plan:
- Your name and birthdate
- Your OBGYNs name
- Baby’s name and gender, if you know them
- Baby’s due date
- Partners name and who will be with you at the delivery
- How many pregnancies and births you’ve had
- Note here also if any of those were C-Sections and if there were any complications
- Any complications during this pregnancy
- This is where you will list any complications like preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, etc
- Pain management during labor
- You can let them know here if you’d like an epidural as soon as possible, if you’d like to have an unmedicated birth, or if you’d like to try an unmedicated birth, but are open to pain medication if things change
- Also let them know here if there are any laboring and birthing positions you’d like to try and any equipment (like a yoga ball or peanut ball) that you’ll need
- Your stance on C-Sections and Episiotomies
- You can let them know if you’d prefer a C-Section, or if you’d rather avoid one unless medically necessary
- Some people prefer natural tearing over an episiotomy, just let them know what your preferences are
- Cutting the umbilical cord
- You can let them know if you’d like to cut the cord yourself, have your partner or a family member do it, or if you’d rather the medical team do it.
- Pain management after labor and delivery
- Some people ask for a rotation between ibuprofen and Tylenol for the postpartum pain, but you don’t need to if you’d rather have an unmedicated postpartum experience.
- Feeding preferences for your newborn
- Let them know here if you plan on breastfeeding or formula feeding so the hospital staff can assist with your preferences.
- Anything else you’d like them to know
- This is a good place to note if you have any mental health concerns, if there’s anyone you don’t want at the birth, etc.
Hope this helps you write a birth plan. Good luck at the birth!
