How to Write a Birth Plan: Template, Tips, and What to Actually Include

What a Birth Plan Actually Is (and Is Not)

A birth plan is a written document — ideally one page — that communicates your preferences for labor, delivery, and the immediate postpartum period to your care team. It covers things like who you want in the room, your approach to pain management, your wishes around interventions, and what you would like to happen in the first moments after your baby is born.

What it is not is a contract, a guarantee, or a script that birth will follow. Labor is one of the most unpredictable physiological events a human body goes through. Cervixes dilate on their own timelines. Babies position themselves in unexpected ways. Blood pressure spikes. Heart rate patterns shift. Your birth plan should reflect your informed preferences — but it also needs to leave room for the reality that the best-laid plans sometimes need to change quickly.

Think of it less as a plan and more as a preferences document — a conversation starter that helps your team understand who you are, what matters to you, and how you want to be supported when you cannot always speak for yourself between contractions.

Why Birth Plans Matter

The primary value of a birth plan is not in the document itself but in the process of creating it. Writing a birth plan forces you to research your options, understand what choices exist, and think through your priorities before you are in the middle of active labor. By the time you arrive at the hospital, you will have already made decisions that many people make under duress.

Research consistently shows that patients who feel heard and respected during labor report higher satisfaction with their birth experience — even when interventions were needed. A clear, concise birth plan is one of the most effective tools for facilitating that communication. Nursing staff change shifts. Midwives hand over to doctors. Your support person may step out. Your written plan speaks for you when you cannot.

It is also a powerful bonding document between you and your partner or support person. Going through the process together — discussing what you both want, what you are flexible on, and what feels non-negotiable — brings a level of alignment and readiness that is hard to achieve any other way.

What to Include in Your Birth Plan

Keep each section brief. Bullet points work better than paragraphs. Your care team will be reading this quickly, possibly mid-shift.

Pain Management Preferences

Be specific but flexible. If you are planning an unmedicated birth, say so — and note that you would like encouragement and alternative comfort measures (hydrotherapy, movement, counterpressure, breathing techniques) before medication is offered. If you intend to have an epidural, state when you would like it discussed. If you are open to seeing how labor progresses, write that too. Avoid ultimatums — "I refuse all medication" can make staff hesitant to communicate options when circumstances change.

Who Is in the Room

List your support people by name and role. If you want only your partner present for delivery, state that. If you have a doula, include their name. If you do not want medical students observing, include that. Most hospitals will accommodate reasonable requests about presence in the room.

Cord Cutting and Delayed Cord Clamping

Delayed cord clamping — waiting 30 to 60 seconds (or longer) before cutting the umbilical cord — allows continued transfer of iron-rich blood from the placenta to the baby. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) supports delayed cord clamping for most births. Note who you would like to cut the cord and whether you are interested in cord blood banking, which has its own timing implications.

Immediate Skin-to-Skin Contact

Skin-to-skin contact in the first hour after birth — the "golden hour" — is associated with improved breastfeeding initiation, better temperature regulation, and stronger maternal-infant bonding. State that you want immediate skin-to-skin unless there is a medical reason for delay. You can also note that your partner or support person can provide skin-to-skin if you are unable to.

Newborn Procedures

Standard newborn procedures vary by hospital and country, but commonly include vitamin K injection, erythromycin eye ointment, hearing screen, blood spot screening, and hepatitis B vaccination. Research each of these before labor. Note which you consent to, which you want delayed until after the golden hour, and any you want to discuss further with your pediatrician. If you are formula feeding or have not yet decided, note your feeding intentions here.

What to Skip

A birth plan that tries to control everything that could possibly happen tends to backfire. Avoid including preferences for things that are outside your control or that will be decided entirely on clinical grounds — like whether your labor will be induced based on a medical finding, or what type of anesthesia is available at 2am. Avoid phrases that sound adversarial, like "I do not consent to" or "under no circumstances." These put staff on the defensive when your goal is collaboration.

Also avoid including information that is already in your medical chart. Your allergies, due date, and group B strep status do not need to be on your birth plan — they have their own dedicated documentation. Use the birth plan for preferences and values, not medical records.

How Long Should It Be?

One page. This is not a suggestion — it is the rule. A birth plan longer than one page is less likely to be read in full during a busy labor ward handover. Use bullet points, not paragraphs. Use headers so staff can find the section that matters in the moment. Keep the font at 12pt minimum. Avoid decorative borders or imagery that distract from the content.

If there is a specific circumstance — for example, a previous traumatic birth, a known medical condition, or a strong religious or cultural practice — that requires extra explanation, attach a brief second page labeled "Additional Context." But keep the main plan to one page.

Bring three to five printed copies to the hospital. Give one to the admitting nurse, keep one in your bag, and give one to your support person. Do not rely on digital copies.

How to Talk to Your OB or Midwife About It

The best time to discuss your birth plan is at a prenatal appointment between 32 and 36 weeks — early enough to make adjustments, late enough that your preferences are fairly settled. Frame the conversation as collaborative rather than confrontational: "I have been putting together my birth preferences — can we go through them and you can tell me if anything is unclear or if there are things I should reconsider given my situation?"

Your OB or midwife may flag items that are not standard practice at their facility or that may conflict with protocols for your specific risk profile. These are important conversations to have before labor, not during. If something in your plan is refused or strongly discouraged, ask for the clinical reason. Understanding the reasoning helps you make an informed decision rather than simply deferring or simply insisting.

If you are planning to deliver at a specific hospital, you can also review the hospital's standard policies — many are available online — so you are not surprised by routines on the day.

Flexibility: Why "Plan B" Should Be Part of Plan A

One of the most common regrets parents report after birth is feeling like their birth plan "failed" because it did not go according to their original preferences. This framing conflates the plan with the outcome. A birth plan is a tool for communication and preparation, not a predictor of how labor will unfold.

Including your Plan B preferences directly in your birth plan reframes flexibility as an informed choice rather than a concession. For example: "I am hoping for an unmedicated birth. If I ask for pain relief, please offer me options before an epidural. If I choose an epidural, please continue to support my other preferences where possible." This kind of language gives your team clear guidance for multiple scenarios instead of leaving them guessing when the primary plan is no longer feasible.

Research on birth satisfaction consistently shows that what matters most is not what happened during labor, but whether parents felt informed, respected, and supported in their decision-making. A flexible, realistic plan helps create the conditions for that kind of experience — regardless of how the birth unfolds.

C-Section Preferences: Include Them Too

Even if you are planning a vaginal birth, including a section on your cesarean preferences is strongly recommended. Approximately one in three births in many high-income countries ends in cesarean section — many of them unplanned. If you find yourself heading into emergency surgery without having thought through your preferences, the moment of consent will be rushed and stressful.

A cesarean section birth plan might include: whether you want a clear drape or a lowered drape so you can see the birth, whether your partner or support person can be present, immediate skin-to-skin in the operating room if possible, whether you want narration from the surgical team about what is happening, music preferences, and your wishes for cord clamping and immediate newborn contact given the surgical context.

Many hospitals now offer "family-centered cesarean" options that allow for skin-to-skin in the OR and partner presence throughout. Ask your OB or midwife what is available at your specific facility and include those possibilities in your plan. Knowing your options removes the anxiety of having to negotiate them in the moment.