Hospital birth plan

How to Create a Birth Plan

Written by Kathleen Dailey

Medically Reviewed by Neha Pathak, MD on March 19, 2021

The day you give birth is one of the most important of your life. Creating a birth plan ahead of time helps you make decisions about how you want your labor and delivery to be, and lets others know your wishes. So when the big day arrives, you can focus on what's most important -- bringing your new baby into the world.

What Is a Birth Plan?

A birth plan is an outline of your preferences during your labor and delivery. For example, your birth plan may include who you want with you during labor, whether you want pain meds, or if you want the lights dimmed. You can include anything you think will make your labor and birth more comfortable for you.

Keep in mind, though, that a birth plan is not set in stone because you cannot predict everything that may occur that day. You or your doctors may need to make changes to the plan once your labor begins. So try to stay flexible if something unexpected happens.

What Should I Include in a Birth Plan?

Although it's tempting to include many details in a birth plan, try to keep it short so it's easy for everyone to read.

Here are some items your birth plan might cover:

The basics: List your name, your doctor's name and contact information, where you plan to give birth, and who you’re planning to have there with you.

Atmosphere: Think about what will help you feel most comfortable. Would you like the lights dimmed? Do you want your room as quiet as possible or would you prefer soft music? Would you like a support person to take photos or video of your labor or birth?

Labor preferences: Include any preferences you have for your labor. For example, do you want to walk around freely? Do you want to use a birthing stool, ball, or chair? Would you like to take a warm shower or bath?

Pain meds:Pain management during labor is an important consideration. You may not plan to have an epidural, but you could change your mind during labor. Or you may know that you definitely want to have an epidural if possible. As you're defining your birth plan, ask your doctor about your options for pain relief as well as any questions you have about them. These could include breathing or massage.

Delivery preferences: There are many options to consider for your baby's birth. If you're planning on a vaginal birth, would you prefer not to have an episiotomy unless it’s medically necessary? Do you want a mirror to see your baby's birth? Would you like your partner to cut the umbilical cord? Do you want your baby placed on your abdomen right after delivery?

If you need a C-section, who would you like with you in the delivery room?

Feeding and Care in the hospital: Once your baby's born, you’ll need to think about feeding and care. For example, do you want to breastfeed right after delivery? Or are you thinking about bottle feeding or combining bottle feeding with breastfeeding? Would you like your baby in the hospital room with you at all times, or would you prefer your baby stay in the nursery sometimes? Is it OK for the medical staff to offer your baby a pacifier or sugar water? If your baby is a boy, would you like them circumcised at the hospital? (Sugar water may be used at time of circumcision.)

Who Should Review My Birth Plan?

Review your birth plan with your partner and anyone else who will be with you in the delivery room, such as a labor coach or doula. Then ask your doctor to take a look at your birth plan, too. Your doctor, or the hospital or birth center, may have their own delivery policies. Reviewing your birth plan ahead of time gives you time to help resolve any potential conflicts.

Who Needs a Copy of My Birth Plan?

Once your birth plan is set, give a copy to your doctor to keep with your medical records, and take another copy to the hospital or birth center. You'll also want to give copies of your birth plan to anyone who will be with you during labor. It's a good idea to bring a few copies with you to the hospital or birth center when you go into labor, too. Another doctor may wind up delivering your baby if your regular doctor isn't available.

It is not necessary to have a birth plan as all of these preferences can be made while in the hospital, but it is certainly important to think about all the options and discuss them with your partner and doctor.

Health & Pregnancy Guide

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Second Trimester
Third Trimester
Labor and Delivery
Pregnancy Complications
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Sample Birth Plan | ACOG

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A birth plan is a written outline of what you would like to happen during labor and delivery. This plan lets your obstetrician–gynecologist (ob-gyn) know your wishes for your labor and delivery.

Go over your plan with your ob-gyn well before your due date. But keep in mind that having a birth plan does not guarantee that your labor and delivery will go according to that plan. Unexpected things can happen.

Remember that you and your ob-gyn have a common goal: the safest possible delivery for you and your baby. A birth plan is a great starting point, but you should be prepared for changes as the situation dictates.

Your name:
Name of your ob-gyn:
Name of your baby's doctor:
Type of childbirth preparation:

Labor

Choose as many as you wish:
[ ] I would like to be able to move around as I wish during labor.
[ ] I would like to be able to drink fluids during labor.

I prefer:
[ ] An intravenous (IV) line for fluids and medications
[ ] A heparin or saline lock (this device provides access to a vein but is not hooked up to a fluid bag)
[ ] I don't have a preference

I would like the following people with me during labor (check hospital or birth center policy on the number of people who can be in the room):
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
It's OK [ ] /not OK [ ] for people in training (such as medical students or residents) to be present during labor and delivery.

I would like to try the following options if they are available (choose as many as you wish):
[ ] A birthing ball
[ ] A birthing stool
[ ] A birthing chair
[ ] A squat bar
[ ] A warm shower or bath during labor. I understand that a bath would be used only for the first stage of labor, not during delivery.

Anesthesia Options

Choose one:
[ ] I do not want anesthesia offered to me during labor unless I specifically request it.
[ ] I would like anesthesia. Please discuss the options with me.
[ ] I do not know whether I want anesthesia. Please discuss the options with me.

Delivery

I would like the following people with me during delivery (check hospital or birth center policy):
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________

[ ] I prefer to avoid an episiotomy unless it is necessary.
[ ] I have made prior arrangements for storing umbilical cord blood.

For a vaginal birth, I would like (choose as many as you wish):
[ ] To use a mirror to see the baby's birth
[ ] For my labor partner to help support me during the pushing stage
[ ] For the room to be as quiet as possible
[ ] For one of my support people to cut the umbilical cord
[ ] For the lights to be dimmed
[ ] To be able to have one of my support people take a video or pictures of the birth. (Note: Some hospitals have policies that prohibit videotaping or taking pictures. Also, if it is allowed, the photographer needs to be positioned in a way that does not interfere with medical care.)
[ ] For my baby to be put directly onto my chest immediately after delivery
[ ] To begin breastfeeding my baby as soon as possible after birth

In the event of a cesarean delivery, I would like the following person to be present with me:
_________________________________________

[ ] I would like to see my baby before my baby is given eye drops.
[ ] I would like one of my support people to hold the baby after delivery if I am not able to.
[ ] I would like one of my support people to go with my baby to the nursery.
[ ] I would like my support person to know what shots my newborn will receive.

Baby Care Plan

Feeding the Baby
I would like to (check one):
[ ] Breastfeed exclusively
[ ] Bottle-feed
[ ] Combine breastfeeding and bottle-feeding
It's OK to offer my baby (check as many as you wish):
[ ] A pacifier
[ ] Sugar water
[ ] Formula
[ ] None of the above

Nursery and Rooming-In
If available at my hospital or birth center, I would like my baby to stay (check one):
[ ] In my room with me at all times
[ ] In my room with me except when I am asleep
[ ] In the nursery but be brought to me for feedings
[ ] I don't know yet. I will decide after the birth.

Circumcision
[ ] If my baby is a boy, I would like him circumcised at the hospital or birth center.

HT001

Last updated: August 2022

Last reviewed: January 2021

This information is designed as an educational aid for the public. It offers current information and opinions related to women's health. It is not intended as a statement of the standard of care. It does not explain all of the proper treatments or methods of care. It is not a substitute for the advice of a physician. Read ACOG’s complete disclaimer.

Birth plan | Articles by doctors of the EMC clinic about diseases, diagnosis and treatment

Soon you will have to draw up a detailed plan of childbirth together with your doctor.

Unfortunately, not always the expectant mother can participate in the planning of childbirth. As a rule, in most clinics, the sole decision is made by the obstetrician-gynecologist and all objections and wishes are rarely taken into account.

However, choosing the clinic where your baby will be born and the doctor who will help him to be born, you, of course, are already planning your ideal birth. It is our deep conviction that in order for the birth to go the way you want, even with the amendments and adjustments that life can make, first of all, we must hear the expectant mother and her wishes.

What do we mean by the birth plan and how it happens, - says the head of the EMC Perinatal Center prof. Natalia Kan.

What should be in the birth plan?

The first thing that the doctor evaluates is the possibility of having a baby through the natural birth canal. The size of the fetus, its location, the characteristics of the pelvis, and whether there are any aggravated factors in the form of somatic or obstetric pathology are taken into account. For us, the most important thing is the health of the mother and her unborn baby, even minimal risks must be taken into account. If a woman in labor has strict indications for a planned caesarean section, the doctor will discuss in detail all the risks that may be if you choose a different method, tell you why operative delivery is required. For example, with complete placenta previa, the doctor adds measures to prevent possible risks to the plan.

Most cases involve vaginal delivery or elective caesarean section. Then we provide all the possibilities for the imagination of future parents: do they want to be together in the birth unit, do they need to dim the lights, what music should be played, perhaps the woman wants to call her doula for childbirth or ease the contractions in the water, will the husband be present in the operating room and take the child first.

When drawing up a birth plan, the doctor and the patient discuss the possibility of inducing labor, the use of anesthesia, pain relief after cesarean, the ability to cut the umbilical cord and much more.

When is the best time to schedule a birth?

As a rule, at 36 weeks, so that the obstetrician-gynecologist has the most complete clinical picture based on the history of the course of pregnancy and the collected examination data.

What to do if things don't go according to plan?

Of course it could be. For example, during EP, situations may arise that cannot always be predicted in advance: acute fetal hypoxia, discoordination of labor, etc. In this case, the birth plan may change. In EMC, in such situations, the delivery room in a few seconds turns into an operating room with all the equipment necessary for the operation, but at the same time, all the wishes of the woman, which can be realized during operative delivery, will be taken into account.

We do our best to ensure that the birth of a woman takes place as calmly and safely as possible. Therefore, when drawing up a birth plan, we always take into account any wishes of a woman, if they do not contradict the safety of the mother and baby.

With us you will be calm and safe.

CHOOSE A DOCTOR FOR BIRTH | City Clinical Hospital. F.I. Inozemtseva

Nobody likes the unknown. She frightens us, but in childbirth this is not at all necessary: fear intensifies pain and spends more strength. So you should use every opportunity to create a pleasant and familiar environment for yourself during childbirth. And you need to start by getting to know the doctor who will take delivery. True, there is one nuance here: a personal doctor is possible only during contractual childbirth.

Determine the criteria

Before looking for a doctor, the expectant mother must decide how she sees her birth and what, in fact, she wants from the doctor? Does she want to give birth as naturally as possible or does she agree to some kind of intervention? Maybe the woman is set up for a vertical birth or is planning to spend the first stage of labor in some other way (for example, in a bath)? Does she expect active help from the doctor or does she only want observation and non-interference in the birth process? You can draw up a whole birth plan for yourself, in which you write all your wishes, doubts and questions. And only having understood something about your childbirth and about what kind of help is expected from a doctor, you can start looking for a specialist who will help to carry out all this.

Where can I find it?

Ideally, if the same doctor will manage the pregnancy and delivery. This is possible only in large medical clinics or in maternity hospitals, which have their own consultation centers. For nine months of constant communication, the doctor and the expectant mother will become, if not friends, then close acquaintances for sure. A woman will trust her doctor, and he will know all the features of her body, as well as the state of health and even the nature of her unborn baby.
But you can choose a doctor and immediately before childbirth, they sign a contract already from the 36th week of pregnancy. We advise you not to postpone the acquaintance, you need to meet with the doctor at least a few times to make sure how you fit each other. Indeed, sometimes the first impression is deceptive, and it will be too late to change the doctor during childbirth.

List of doctors and midwives for concluding a contract for childbirth in the maternity hospital at the GKB im. FI Inozemtseva on Fortunatovskaya street

F. I. Inozemtseva on Upper Pervomaiskaya Street

Who will help you find a doctor?

Probably the first thing that pregnant women look for when looking for a doctor is the reviews of friends and acquaintances who have already given birth, the so-called word of mouth. This is convenient: you can directly ask a young mother a bunch of questions, at the same time get yourself a first impression of the doctor - is this the person you need. Still, of course, you can read reviews on the Internet, but here it is difficult to count on reliability. After all, it is impossible to understand through the screen what kind of person is talking about the doctor, it is likely that his preferences will be very far from yours. Well, already having come to the clinic or maternity hospital, you can additionally ask for advice there. In the department where the contract for the management of pregnancy or childbirth is concluded, there are always specialists who will help you choose a doctor, taking into account the preferences of the expectant mother, and not even one. Well, then it remains only to go to get acquainted with the doctor.

First meeting

At the first meeting, in addition to any medical aspects, one should also pay attention to the character of the doctor. Some women need a kind doctor, others a strict one. Someone would prefer a talkative doctor, and someone - a laconic one. There are mothers who feel good with a cheerful person, while others need a serious specialist. All this is also important, because a woman should feel comfortable in the company of her doctor, she needs to establish contact with him. If the expectant mother takes her husband with her to the birth, then his opinion will also be important here, because then three people will already interact in childbirth. Therefore, it is necessary to come to the first meeting with the future dad.
There is one more thing - the doctor will also evaluate the couple with whom he will then have to work, so you need to take into account that he should also be comfortable with future parents.

We pay attention

Next, we look at whether the doctor is positive? Yes, there are doctors who immediately see a problem in every complaint, not a solution, expect the worst, and even voice their concerns to the expectant mother. You need to part with such a doctor, because how pregnancy and childbirth will proceed depends largely on the psychological mood of the mother. And where can I get it if the doctor scares the woman all the time?
The doctor should also be friendly to the expectant mother and take into account her opinion.

Important little things

Discuss with the doctor all the points that concern you: how to call him for childbirth, what time he will arrive, whether he will be on vacation and whether he will leave the city. Find out how the doctor relates to pain relief in childbirth, stimulation of contractions, puncture of the fetal bladder, etc. Tell him about your wishes, because the doctor cannot read the thoughts of his patients and, not knowing what a woman wants or does not want, will act as usual, not the way she expects.