Looking to download a free birth plan? Want to learn what you need to know to fill it out? Then keep reading, mama.
As an L&D nurse I’ve seen a LOT of different birth plans. I’ve seen the positive experience they can provide, but also the way they can set some women up for disappointment.
One thing that’s certain, I DO recommend creating a birth plan before giving birth.
Overall, I see birth plans as an empowering tool that gets mamas researching and thinking more about birth before it happens!
Just like good childbirth education, the process of creating a birth plan helps eliminate some of the fear and anxiety surrounding birth because it erases a bit of the unknown.
Ready to dive into the ins and outs of creating a birth plan, different types of birth plans, and things to consider as you create yours? Let’s go!
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There is a pretty big caveat I like to say surrounding birth plans – don’t let them be the downfall of your positive birth! A birth plan should be something you think of more as your “birth wishes”. It’s a chance for you to reflect on what you think you want, and what you think you definitely don’t want. Try your best to let it be flexible! It’s impossible to know how your unique birth will progress. Setting yourself up with a rigid birth plan and then having things go differently can set you up for disappointment and a more difficult birth to process mentally. I don’t want to see that happen to you!
Okay, so a birth plan is basically a guide or form that lets your provider and birthing team know your preferences surrounding labor, birth, immediate newborn care, and the postpartum hospital stay. It’s a chance to think through your preferences before you’re actually IN labor. It’s meant to get conversations about interventions, pain relief, and newborn care procedures going before the big day. Birth plans are a way to have your voice heard prior to and during birth so that we (your labor and delivery team) can help you have the best birth possible!
Curious how you gain access to this pack of templates that have been downloaded and loved by over 30,000 women? All you have to do is fill out the form below, and we will send them straight to your inbox!
You definitely want to have your birth plan completed before you go into labor…but a little bit ahead of that is even better! I recommend starting to think about your birth plan at the beginning of the third trimester. You don’t have to sit down and complete the whole thing at once, but looking over some birth plan templates and considerations can get the ball rolling and conversations started towards creating a plan you feel good about.
Ideally, you should finish your birth plan sometime between weeks 35 and 37, this way you can discuss it in detail with your provider. Then, ask if the birth plan can be included in your hospital pre-registration packet. Some hospitals do this as standard practice, but many will accommodate it if not. If you are able to hand over a copy of your birth plan early, great! But still, bring a printed back-up copy just in case it gets lost somewhere down the line.
The goal of a birth plan seems obvious. It’s documentation of your preferences related to the birth process. It’s an outline of your wishes and hopes for your birth, but remember that it’s NOT a binding contract.
The most important component of EVERY birth is to keep mama and baby safe. And sometimes, for that to happen, things don’t go according to plan.
But, one thing you can do to have a more positive birth experience, is note 1-2 goals on your birth plan that feel MOST important to you. While this isn’t a guarantee, by highlighting these, your birth team can try to honor some of these wishes even if the overall birth outcome progresses differently than you hoped.
Here are a few examples of these bigger picture goals that we can try to honor regardless of how your birth unfolds:
Do you see what I mean? Many of these can be upheld whether you labor unmedicated, get an epidural, need labor augmentation, an unplanned C-section, or anything in between!
One of the first steps to creating a birth plan is thinking through what TYPE of birth you want to have. While you don’t HAVE to decide this ahead of time, it can inform your birth plan (and necessary preparations before birth) quite a bit.
Okay…so now let’s look at some birth plan specifics for different types of birth!
Here are some key components to writing a birth plan that includes an epidural:
Don’t forget, you probably won’t be getting an epidural placed until you are 4-6 cm along…let’s go over some natural pain relieving strategies for the early active labor stage.
