A birth plan helps you to consider all the aspects of the birth of your child. It can help you and your birth helper to clarify your ideas and communicate your feelings about what may happen during the labour and birth. It helps you to communicate to your care provider, nurses or doula what your wishes are.

A birth plan is NOT helpful if it is held as the ONLY way the birth will be – not matter what! We never know how the births of our children will be, so flexibility is our greatest asset. Phrases such as “would prefer”, “if possible,” and “unless medically necessary”, will show your caregivers (and remind you) that you know that it may be necessary to modify your plan.

Some caregivers may be concerned that a birth plan shows a lack of trust in your caregivers and the hospital. Make sure that you adopt a friendly and polite attitude to the whole process and reassure your caregiver that you are not doing this because you don’t trust them but because you want to make sure there is good communication between you and with the hospital staff.

Here is one way of going about making a birth plan.

Read the list of items on the next page.

• Discuss how you feel about them with your partner or birth helper.
• Choose which ones you feel strongly about. There might be some of these you don’t care about either way. There may be other things about the birth that you really do/don’t want.
• Make your own list of important items.

Take this list to your care provider and discuss each item on the list.

• Find out what their routines and practice are for each of your areas of concern.

Find out what their concerns and limits are.

• Express your concerns and preferences.
• Try to come to an agreement.
• Take your helper to this appointment if possible – they can take notes.

Go home and write up the results of that conversation.

• Write down what you and your care provider agreed on.
• If you disagreed about anything, write that down too.
• Remember to use those “flexibility” phrases.
• This is your birth plan. (If you want to, you can use the Birth Plan form)
• Make two to three copies.

At your next visit, take your birth plan to your care provider and ask him/her to look it over. Ask that it be put on your chart. This way it will be sent over to the hospital and will be there when you arrive. Keep a copy and pack it in your hospital bag just in case the other one gets misplaced.

If you have a doula or extra birth helper, make sure they get a copy!

The following is a list of items to consider in making a birth plan: