Hello, welcome to your guide to birth plans! Before we jump into things, if you’ve been feeling super out of your depth about giving birth and the details surrounding it, you’re not alone. While some people have a very specific and clear plan about their babies’ delivery, others can start to think about making a plan a few weeks or days before they give birth, and some, without any plan at all. Regardless of which category you fit into, making a birth plan can be really helpful to guide you, your birthing partner and birth team through what your birth preferences are and help empower your choices and options for birth.

So what is a birth plan and what is the point of it?

In short, a birth plan is a proposal of your labour and birth preferences, describing your wishes for before, during and after labour and delivery. It’s usually a single page or two, that can be as detailed or succinct as you want.

Making a birth plan can bring many benefits including:

• Thinking realistically about what to expect for your labour and birth
• To help feel more prepared
• Mitigate or minimise conflict and confusion for when you are in labour/birth
• Ease confusion and (some) surprises
• Communicate your preferences to your birthing partner(s) and birth team even when you may not be able to communicate
• Help empower your choices and options for labour and birth
• Develop back up plans in foresight if things may not go as expected (where possible)

Its also important to note that you can change and adapt your birth plan as need as much as you want right up until your birth. So nothing is set in stone if you don’t want it to be, likewise, birth can be unpredictable so deviating from your birth plan may be necessary or even a preferred option when the time comes (i.e. changing your mind about pain relief, birthing positions, needing intervention and so on).

Do I need a birth plan?

Nope, not at all, not if you don’t want to.

Usually your birth team (Obstetrician, Midwife, etc) will discuss birthing options with you but that doesn’t mean you HAVE to make a birth plan. Talking with your care team can be a great way to understand what to expect, ask questions and get a good sense of labour and birth options. It’s also a good way to understand what options your team and hospital/birth location can offer you.

So what goes into a birth plan?

There is no right or wrong way to create a birth plan, nor is there any such thing as right or wrong preferences. Common considerations, however, include:

• Desires for the birthing environment
• Intended labour aids
• How you want to labour (i.e. positions, etc)
• Delivery options (i.e. vaginal or caesarean-section)
• Postpartum (post birth)/newborn care and requests (i.e. would you like to delay non-urgent routine checks for immediate skin to skin)

The Mindlife Birth Plan allows you to consider all of these as well as extra categories (such as communication, feeding and visitor preferences and more) to ensure you feel as prepared and empowered as possible for your labour and delivery. Knowing where to start can be hard so to help you, we’ve used a check-box format so all you have to do is consider options you might like and tick the boxes 😎 We recommend still doing your research and having a good think about what your wishes are and what you align with.

Here is a sample below:

How to write a birth plan

If you are not sure where to start, it might be a good idea to sit down with your birth partner(s) and/or birth care team to talk through your options.

Consider the following points:

Before birth:

• Who would I like to have with me during labour, birth and after delivery?
• When or how do I feel most safe and calm, what can I or my birth partner do to help achieve this?
• Where would I like to labour and give birth (i.e. home, hospital or birth centre)
• How would I like my environment to be? (dimmed lighting? Playing music?)
• Would I like any labour and birth aids? (i.e. tens machine, birthing ball, massage etc?)
• What positions would I like to labour and give birth in, do I want to be still or move around freely?
• Do I prefer vaginal or C-section delivery?

During birth/delivery

• How much intervention from my birthing team do I want?
• Would I like a water birth?
• Do I want someone taking photos or videos during this time?
• Do I want pain relief? If so, what kinds?
• Do I want to use a mirror or assist in the delivery of my baby?
• Do I feel comfortable with an episiotomy or do I prefer natural tearing if any
• How do I feel about using forceps

After birth

• Who would I like to catch the baby
• Who can cut the umbilical cord
• Do I want to delay non-urgent routines for immediate skin to skin
• Am I intending to save my cord blood or placenta
• Would I like to see my placenta
• When and how would I like to feed my baby (breastfeeding or formula)

What happens if I can’t stick to my birth plan?

So this can be common given the unpredictable nature of birth and sometimes unfortunately can’t be avoided. For instance, in the case of a medical emergency or there is increasing risk for you or your baby, your birth team may need to take action quickly to keep you and your baby safe, even if it means deviating from your birth plan.

One common example of when it can be difficult to stick to a birth plan is when you may plan for a vaginal delivery but need an unplanned C-section may be required at the last moment. It is important to remember that you can still plan for this (and other potential likely unexpected scenarios) on your birth plan with back up options.

General tips for creating and using your birth plan

• Take your time and consider your needs and preferences realistically
• Try and be open to being flexible for when sticking to your exact birth plan is not possible, understandably sticking as close to your birth plan is preferable but sometimes deviations are necessary as disappointing as that may be
• Communicate your needs and plan with your birth plan and birth care team to make sure everyone is on the same page
• Keep your plan clear and as specific as possible for each point of preference, try not to be too word-y
• Try not to have too little information, you want to make sure that your plan is informed and gives clear direction of options
• Making several copies can be handy if you want to give them to people in your birth team or loved ones/birthing support as well as having one for yourself.
• Asking people who have gone through labour and birth can be really helpful, remember it’s still your own unique labour and birthing experience but they may have some great tips and wisdom to help guide you.

In summary, remember its ok to feel overwhelmed and unsure about things whether it’s your first pregnancy or sixth! If in doubt, sharing your thoughts and plan with your obstetrician, midwife, doctor, or anyone else experienced with birth can be really helpful. Not only will this be a great opportunity to ask questions, but it can help your birth team and support people understand your wishes. Remember that they are there to support you through labour and birth and keep you and bubba safe. Ultimately, the most important part of labour and birth is keeping you and your baby safe, well and as happy as possible. Keep in mind that planning and preparing can build confidence and empowerment, and developing a birth plan can help with just that!

You’ve got this! Happy planning 😊