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How to Write a Simple Birth Plan

Share your wishes with your care team, and stay flexible for what the day brings.

Before you use this guide: This is general educational information, not an individual medical assessment. We do not identify a clinician reviewer on this page, so please confirm personal health decisions with your doctor, midwife or paediatrician.

A birth plan, sometimes called birth preferences, is a short note about what matters to you in labour and birth. It helps your team understand your wishes and starts useful conversations. Birth is unpredictable, so think of it as a guide rather than a script.

Before you write it

• Learn about the stages of labour, pain relief options and common interventions. Antenatal classes and our guides are a good start.
• Find out what your hospital or birth centre offers, such as birthing pools, mobile epidurals or whether partners can stay overnight.
• Talk to your partner or birth supporter about what you want and how they can help.
• Ask your midwife or doctor about any risks specific to you, such as a previous caesarean or a condition that affects your options.

What to include

• Who you would like with you, and their role
• The environment: dim lights, music, quiet, privacy, or whether you would like to be able to move around
• Positions for labour and birth. Many women find upright and active positions helpful.
• Pain relief: what you would like to try first, and whether you are open to an epidural or other medicine. See our guide to pain relief options.
• Monitoring: whether you would like to be mobile with wireless monitoring, if it is suitable
• Skin-to-skin contact straight after birth, and delaying the first bath
• Your wishes about the third stage of labour and cord clamping, as options your team offers
• How you plan to feed your baby, and whether you would like support with breastfeeding in the first hour
• Any newborn care you wish to discuss, such as the vitamin K injection, which helps prevent a rare bleeding disorder, and the usual checks
• Any cultural or religious needs, such as modesty, the sex of the staff or particular rituals
• Any worries or history you would like your team to know, including past trauma or anxiety

If things change

Add a short plan B for the unexpected. If you need an induction, an assisted birth or a caesarean, what is most important to you? For example, you might ask for your partner to be with you, for skin-to-skin contact in theatre, and for the baby to stay with you. If your baby needs special care, tell the team how you would like to be involved. See our guides to induction and caesarean birth.

Tips for writing it

• Keep it to one page, with short bullet points.
• Use positive, flexible wording, such as "I would like to try" or "I would prefer", rather than a list of demands. Teams respond better to this.
• Put the most important points first.
• Discuss it with your midwife or doctor before your due date, usually around 34 to 36 weeks, and ask them to add it to your maternity notes.
• Take extra copies to the hospital, and give one to your birth partner.
• Revisit it near the due date. Your thoughts may change, and that is fine.

Staying flexible

Even the best-prepared plan may need to change if your or your baby's safety requires it. Medical teams will explain why and ask for your consent whenever possible. It can help to talk with your partner beforehand about how you will make decisions during labour and who will speak for you if you are unable to.

Questions to ask your midwife or doctor

• Which pain relief options are available here, and how quickly can I get an epidural if I want one?
• Can I eat and drink during labour, and move around freely?
• How often is the baby monitored, and is wireless monitoring available?
• What is the policy on water birth, and can I use the pool for pain relief only?
• How many birth partners can stay, and what happens if a caesarean is needed?
• What are the policies on cutting the cord, vitamin K and the newborn checks?
• How soon after the birth can I go home?

If you have a planned caesarean or induction

A birth plan is still worth making. For a planned caesarean, you can ask about a clear drape so you can see your baby being born, skin-to-skin contact in theatre, music, and having your partner with you from the start. For an induction, you can ask about how it will be done, how long it may take, and which comfort measures you can use while you wait.

After the birth

If your birth did not go as you hoped, it is normal to feel disappointed or upset. Ask for a debrief with your midwife or doctor to go through what happened, and talk to someone you trust. Our guide to the six-week postnatal check explains where to get support.

What matters most is that you and your baby are safe and that you feel heard and supported. A birth plan is a way to help make that happen.

This content is for general information only and is not medical advice. Every pregnancy and every baby is different. Always talk to your doctor, midwife or paediatrician about your own situation, and seek urgent care if you are worried.