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A birth plan can outline your goals for your baby’s delivery.
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Your birth plan should include your wishes for childbirth, like where you’d like to deliver and your preferences for pain management.
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While a birth plan provides a map for your baby’s birth, flexibility is critical. Your provider may need to make changes to your plan to keep you and your baby safe and healthy.
Birth plans: What you can and can’t control
Much like a road map for a trip, a birth plan can lay out a vision for what you’d like to experience during childbirth, especially if you’re a first-time parent. While you can create the map with your preferred turns and stops reflected, that doesn’t mean unexpected detours won’t pop up along the way.
When it comes to birth plans, it helps to think of them as guidelines, says Dafna Trites, D.O., a Providence OB-GYN at Facey Medical Group in Tarzana, California. They can give you confidence and help you feel empowered, but flexibility is key.
“Set expectations for your baby’s birth with compassion, leaving space for what’s outside of your control,” she says.
Breaking down the birth plan
A birth plan outlines your preferences for labor and delivery, including your birth experience and postpartum care. While it can be a physical piece of paper, you should consider your birth plan a living document, one you can adapt if needed.
Also, remember that while a birth plan isn’t required, it can help your care team understand your preferences and expectations as your due date approaches.
What you can control
Among the things you have some influence over when preparing to welcome your baby — like nursery colors and what to pack in your hospital bag — a birth plan tops the list. During your delivery, it can guide your experience so it’s in line with your wishes as much as possible.
Here are some topics you may consider covering in your birth plan:
- Birthing location, such as a hospital, birthing center or home
- Blood banking
- Bottle feeding
- Breastfeeding
- Delayed cord clamping
- Laboring position(s), including whether you want to use a birthing ball
- Method of delivery, such as vaginal birth or vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC)
- Pain relief and pain management, such as medicated options like an epidural and pain medication, and unmedicated, natural therapies like massage and breathing techniques
- Skin-to-skin contact
- Support people, such as a spouse, partner or other family member, or a doula
In addition, you can use your birth plan to describe what you’d prefer for the delivery room atmosphere. For instance, you can list who you’d like to be in the room with you (if anyone), whether you’d like a quiet or more boisterous environment, and how bright you’d like the room to be.
You should also consider including in your birth preferences what you’d like to happen in the event of an emergency or high-risk situation. For example, if you’re planning for a vaginal birth but end up needing a last-minute C-section, consider whether you’d like someone with you in the operating room, if possible.
“Discussing your preferences with your care team early and creating a birth plan can help you feel safe and confident,” Dr. Trites says. “Not to mention prepared if the unexpected happens.”
What you can’t control
Childbirth isn’t always predictable. While your care team will do everything in their power to honor your birth plan, their primary goal will always be the health of you and your baby.
Some factors you can’t influence during childbirth are the timing and pace of labor, and unexpected health changes.
Changes in your or your baby’s health may cause your provider to scrap your delivery preferences. That may include switching from a vaginal birth to a C-section, or using interventions like vacuum extraction (a suction cup attached to the baby’s head to guide them through the birth canal) or forceps (a medical instrument used to grasp the baby inside the birth canal and help guide them out).
“While you may not want surgery or assisted vaginal delivery for your baby’s birth, these are necessary pivots we have to make sometimes if labor isn’t progressing or if your or your baby’s health is at risk from prolonged labor,” Dr. Trites says.
Trust your team
Preparing for the unexpected doesn’t mean you should expect the worst. Instead, think of it as planning for every possibility, Dr. Trites says.
“It’s immensely important to trust your care team when you’re pregnant and getting ready for childbirth,” she says. “When you trust your provider, you know that you’re in good hands. They’re going to make decisions that are in the best interest of you and your baby.”
Have more questions? Schedule an appointment with a Providence OB-GYN today.
Contributing caregiver
Dafna Trites, D.O., is a Providence OB-GYN at Facey Medical Group in Tarzana, California.
Find a doctor
If you’re pregnant or planning to become pregnant and are looking for an experienced, caring provider to help you navigate pregnancy and welcome your little one into the world, we can help. Providence offers maternity, prenatal care and obstetrics services. You can also search for an OB-GYN or midwife who’s right for you in our provider directory.
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Related resources
What to do now to prepare for your baby’s arrival
Providence midwives offer more than pregnancy support
Pregnancy: Everything you need to know for your journey
This information is not intended as a substitute for professional medical care. Always follow your health care professional’s instructions.
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