How to Write a Birth Plan: A Practical Guide from a Worthing Doula
The birth plan gets a bit of a bad reputation. You'll occasionally hear midwives joke that the most elaborate birth plans lead to the most complicated births — and some expectant parents have heard this and decided not to bother at all.
That would be a shame, because a well-written birth plan is genuinely useful. Not because birth follows a script — it doesn't — but because the process of writing one helps you think through your preferences, and the document itself gives your care team a quick way to understand what matters to you when labour is in full swing and there isn't time for long conversations.
Here's how to write one that actually helps.
First: what a birth plan is and isn't
A birth plan is a written summary of your preferences for labour, birth, and the immediate postnatal period. It's not a contract, and it's not a prediction of how your birth will go. Things change in labour, and a good birth plan acknowledges that.
What it is, is a communication tool. It tells your midwife, quickly, what's important to you — so that when decisions need to be made, your care team has a clear picture of what you'd prefer rather than having to ask you mid-contraction.
Think of it less as a plan and more as a set of preferences and priorities, written down so they don't get lost.
Keep it short
The most effective birth plans are one to two sides of A4. Bullet points rather than paragraphs. Clear headings so a midwife can scan it quickly.
A twelve-page document is harder to read, easier to put aside, and may suggest — unfairly — that you're going to be difficult to work with. A concise, well-structured plan is more likely to be read, respected, and referred to.
What to include
Environment and atmosphere
Do you want the lights dimmed?
Music, or quiet?
Minimal interruptions during contractions?
How many people do you want in the room?
Pain relief
What are you planning? TENS machine, water, gas and air, an epidural, or a combination?
Are there pain relief options you'd like to try first before others?
Are there any you'd prefer not to use, or only as a last resort?
Monitoring
Do you want to be mobile and upright if possible, rather than on the bed?
Would you prefer intermittent monitoring over continuous monitoring if your birth is low-risk?
Delivery
Any preferences on position for pushing?
Do you have a preference about episiotomy — only if essential, or rather than tearing?
Do you want a physiological (natural) third stage, or a managed one with the injection?
Immediately after birth
Do you want immediate skin-to-skin if possible?
Who is cutting the cord, and do you want to wait for it to stop pulsating first?
How do you plan to feed your baby, and what support might be helpful?
If things change
This is perhaps the most important section. What matters to you if your birth takes an unexpected turn — an induction, an assisted birth, a caesarean?
Even if you're hoping for a straightforward labour, it's worth thinking through: if I end up with a caesarean, what still matters to me? A calm atmosphere, immediate skin-to-skin if it's safe, your partner staying with you throughout, delayed cord clamping where possible. These things can still happen in an operating theatre if you've asked for them in advance.
Your birth partner's role
What would you like your birth partner to do? What do you need from them? If you'd like them to speak for you when you're in the middle of a contraction, say so. If there are things you'd like them to remind you of, note them.
A note on language
The way you phrase your birth plan matters. There's a difference between "I don't want X" and "I'd prefer to avoid X unless there's a clinical reason, in which case please explain it to me first."
The second version invites dialogue rather than resistance. It signals that you understand birth is unpredictable, that you respect the clinical expertise of your care team, and that what you're asking for is to be included in decisions rather than simply told what's happening.
In my experience, birth plans written with that kind of tone tend to get a very different response from midwives than ones that read like a list of refusals.
When to write it
Most people write their birth plan around 34–36 weeks, when you have a clear picture of your plans but there's still time to discuss it with your midwife at an antenatal appointment and make any changes.
If you're working with a doula, writing your birth plan together is a good use of one of your antenatal sessions. It's a useful way to make sure everything you care about is captured, and to talk through scenarios you might not have considered.
Bring multiple copies
Print several copies — one for your maternity notes, one for your partner, one to keep accessible during labour. If you're transferred between wards or hospitals, you want it to travel with you.
It's also worth having a digital version on your phone, because you may be somewhere unexpected when labour starts.
If you'd like help with yours
Writing a birth plan is something I do with all my clients as part of our antenatal work together. It's also something we can work on in a standalone consultation if you're not looking for full doula support but want some help organising your thoughts before your birth.
If you're in Worthing, West Sussex, Brighton, or Hove and you'd like to talk through what you want from your birth, book a free initial consultation and let's have a chat.
Book your free call here — no obligation, just a conversation.
Mai is a birth and postnatal doula based in Worthing, West Sussex. She supports families through pregnancy, birth, and the postnatal period across the South Coast.