What is a birth plan?

Have you heard the term birth plan? Have you ever felt you’d like aspects of your birth to reflect your preferences, even if your hospital has standard protocols?

Many mums-to-be worry because they don’t know exactly what to expect during labour. More and more parents hope for a physiological, low-intervention birth where calm and continuity are protected for both mother and baby.

Hospital tours or antenatal classes can ease nerves with practical information. Even so, it’s natural to have personal wishes for one of life’s biggest moments.

A birth plan is simply a conversation starter with your midwife and medical team: a clear, friendly way to say what matters to you if all is well with you and your baby.

It isn’t a rigid script - birth can’t be planned line by line. Think of it as guiding principles to follow as circumstances allow.

What can go into a birth plan?

Every plan is personal. Common points include:

• Procedures you’d prefer to avoid if possible (e.g. routine episiotomy).

• The kind of communication and care that helps you feel safe.

• Birth partner(s) you’d like with you.

• Pain relief preferences (what you’d like to try first, what you’d rather avoid).

• Any cultural or faith practices you’d like respected.

• Preference to be cared for by women only.

• Immediate skin-to-skin and receiving baby promptly after birth; if a general anaesthetic were needed, who should hold baby first.

• Your partner’s role during labour and birth.

• Preferred positions for labour and pushing.

• Cord clamping timing and who will cut the cord.

There are many other possibilities - the best birth plans are concise and personal.

Typical challenges with birth plans

The hardest part is often aligning heartfelt wishes with what your midwives and doctors can safely support on the day. Because plans are more common now than they used to be, staff should be familiar, but tone matters. If your plan frames choices positively and shows trust in the team’s expertise, it is easier for everyone to work with.

Most parents know that in hospital you can’t control every step. You may have more scope in a midwifery-led unit, a private setting, or at home birth with a qualified team. The aim isn’t to insist on anything unsafe or impractical; it’s to create enough calm and clarity so you can relax, while a few important preferences are honoured where possible.

How to align your wishes with hospital practice

Clear, calm, assertive communication helps. Expect that staff may not deviate far from routine, yet even one or two honoured preferences can make a big difference.

Start by writing your plan. When your thoughts are clear and short, it’s easier to speak up confidently.

Ask direct questions and include “what if” scenarios. If complications arise, you may feel vulnerable; it helps to request ongoing explanations of any necessary procedures and to nominate your birth partner to speak for you if you need to focus inward.

Deciding whether an intervention is needed is the clinical team’s role. For example, artificial rupture of membranes may carry pros and cons that differ by situation. Your plan should be a flexible guide, not a binding contract. Birth is unpredictable; what matters is a collaborative attitude, trust and doing what’s safest while keeping your preferences in view.

Build in flexibility for the unexpected. Your and your baby’s health come first.

What helps you feel safe?

Most people write a plan to make the day feel more predictable and meaningful. Naming what you hope for reduces the fear of the unknown and helps you remember your baby’s birth as your story.

A plan also helps shape a supportive birth team around you so everyone understands the role they can play - especially your partner.

A birth plan helps partners too

Partners often feel anxious about birth as they know the place and process less well, and they desperately want to help. A plan gives them clear jobs and confidence: holding positions, offering comfort, protecting the environment, or, in theatre if needed, being ready for skin-to-skin with baby until you can hold them.

Discuss beforehand how your partner can advocate for your preferences if you are not in a place to chat through every decision. That sense of purpose can transform their experience.

Handing your plan to the team

Keep it short - ideally one page with bullet points. Staff cannot hold a long document in their heads during a busy shift, so make it quick to scan and easy to revisit during labour.

Open with a brief, respectful note asking staff to support the listed preferences unless there is a clinical reason not to. Say you’d value explanations if plans change. Ask for the plan to be added to your notes so the whole team can see it.

References:

NHS — How to make a birth plan

NCT (UK) — Writing a birth plan and deciding about pain relief