How to Write a Birth Plan: Complete Template and Guide

A birth plan is a document that communicates your preferences for labor, delivery, and immediate postpartum care to your medical team. It's not a rigid contract — birth is unpredictable by nature — but it ensures your providers understand your priorities and can support you even when plans change.

Short answer: write a one-page birth plan between 32 and 36 weeks, organize it under four headings — labor, delivery, newborn care, and "if a cesarean becomes necessary" — and go through it with your provider at a prenatal visit so nothing in it is a surprise on the day. A copy-and-paste template is below, followed by the context behind each line so you are choosing, not just checking boxes.

One-Page Birth Plan Template

Copy this into a document, delete the lines you have no opinion on, and keep what is left to a single page. Short lines get read; paragraphs do not.

• About us: my name, due date, provider, support person(s), doula (if any), anything the team should know (allergies, previous births, fears).
• Labor environment: lights dim / no preference · my own music · people in the room · students or observers welcome / not welcome.
• Pain relief: please offer options / please wait until I ask · I plan to try: movement, shower or tub, massage, breathing · I plan an epidural as soon as it is practical · I would like to discuss IV medication.
• Movement and monitoring: I would like to stay mobile · intermittent monitoring if it is appropriate for me · a saline lock instead of a continuous IV if possible.
• Interventions: please explain the reason and the alternatives before breaking my water, starting Pitocin or an assisted delivery, unless it is an emergency.
• Pushing and delivery: positions I would like to try · warm compresses · a mirror / no mirror · who announces the sex.
• Cord and first hour: delayed cord clamping · who cuts the cord · immediate skin-to-skin · delay weighing and measuring until after the first feed, if all is well.
• Newborn care: vitamin K, eye ointment, hepatitis B vaccine — yes / I would like to discuss · baby stays with us for procedures where possible.
• Feeding: breastfeeding / formula / both · lactation consultant visit requested · please ask before offering formula or a pacifier.
• If a cesarean becomes necessary: support person with me · clear or lowered drape · skin-to-skin in the operating room if possible, otherwise with my partner.
• After birth: rooming in / nursery breaks welcome · visitors: none for the first hours / family only.

Pack two printed copies with everything else on the hospital bag checklist: one for your chart, one for your labor nurse.

What Is a Birth Plan and Why Make One?

A birth plan isn't about controlling the uncontrollable. It's a communication tool that helps your medical team understand what matters most to you when you may not be in a position to explain it. Its real job is to start a conversation with your provider about expectations, medical options and what-if scenarios while there is still time to have it calmly.

The process of writing a birth plan is often more valuable than the document itself. It forces you to research your options, discuss preferences with your partner and provider, and think through contingencies.

Share your birth plan with your provider at a prenatal appointment around 32–36 weeks. This gives you time to discuss any items they have concerns about and make adjustments. Bring copies to the hospital — one for your chart, one for your nurse, and one for your support person.

When to Write Your Birth Plan

Start thinking about your preferences in the second trimester and finalize your plan by weeks 32–36. This timing gives you enough pregnancy experience to know what matters to you, while leaving time to discuss the plan with your provider and make any necessary revisions.

Take a childbirth education class before writing your plan. Classes taught by hospitals, birth centers, or certified educators (Lamaze, Bradley Method, HypnoBirthing) provide the knowledge you need to make informed decisions about pain management, labor positions, interventions, and postpartum care. It's hard to state preferences about things you haven't learned about yet.

Labor Preferences

Environment: Consider lighting (dim vs. bright), music (your own playlist or quiet), who's in the room (partner, family members, or a doula — see our doula vs. midwife guide), and whether you want the door open or closed. Many hospitals are surprisingly flexible about creating a comfortable environment.

Pain management: This is the biggest decision most people include. Your main options are unmedicated techniques (breathing, movement, hydrotherapy, massage), IV pain medication, and epidural anesthesia — our epidural guide covers how that one works and what it limits. Many people write a tiered plan: "I'd like to try unmedicated coping first, but I'm open to an epidural if I request one." The key is making sure your team knows whether you want them to offer pain relief proactively or only if you ask.

Freedom of movement: Walking, changing positions, using a birth ball, squatting, and laboring in water can all help manage pain and facilitate labor progress. If you want mobility, note it — continuous fetal monitoring and IV lines can restrict movement, but intermittent monitoring and a saline lock (an IV port without a continuous drip) offer more freedom where they are appropriate. Whether they are depends on your pregnancy, so ask your provider which applies to you. What you wear matters here too: a labor gown with snaps at the shoulders and an open back works with monitors, an epidural and skin-to-skin in a way a hospital gown or your own T-shirt does not.

Hydration and eating: Policies on eating and drinking during labor vary. Some hospitals allow clear liquids and light snacks; others restrict intake. Ask your provider about their policy and include your preference.

Interventions: State your preferences regarding: membrane sweeping, artificial rupture of membranes (breaking your water), Pitocin for augmentation, continuous vs. intermittent fetal monitoring, and coached vs. spontaneous pushing. For each, consider: "Under what circumstances would I be comfortable with this?" Knowing the stages of labor makes these easier to picture.

Delivery Preferences

Pushing position: You don't have to deliver lying on your back — side-lying, hands-and-knees, squatting, and semi-reclined positions are all options. Ask which positions your provider and your hospital's beds can support, especially if you plan an epidural.

Perineal support: If you would like warm compresses or a slow, guided delivery of the baby's head, say so. If avoiding an episiotomy matters to you, write that down and ask your provider in advance in what circumstances they would recommend one.

Cord clamping: The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends delaying cord clamping "for at least 30–60 seconds after birth" in vigorous term and preterm infants, noting that in term babies it "improves iron stores in the first several months of life." ACOG also notes a small increase in jaundice needing phototherapy, so your team will watch for that. Note your preference and who you'd like to cut the cord.

Skin-to-skin contact: Immediate skin-to-skin contact means your naked baby is placed on your bare chest and covered with a blanket, and routine checks happen there where possible. State whether you want this immediately, and whether your partner should do skin-to-skin if you're unable to (such as during C-section recovery).

Immediate Postpartum Preferences

Feeding: Note whether you plan to breastfeed, formula feed, or combination feed. If breastfeeding, state whether you want lactation consultant support and whether supplementation with formula is acceptable if needed. If formula feeding, note the brand you prefer. A nursing pillow earns its place in the hospital bag either way — it props the baby at chest height for breast or bottle and takes the weight off a sore abdomen after a cesarean.

Newborn procedures: Standard newborn procedures include a vitamin K injection (it protects against vitamin K deficiency bleeding; the American Academy of Pediatrics says pediatricians "have recommended since 1961 that all newborns get a vitamin K shot at birth"), erythromycin eye ointment, hepatitis B vaccine, and newborn screening. You can request timing preferences (e.g., delaying non-urgent procedures for the first hour to allow skin-to-skin and breastfeeding).

Visitors: Decide in advance who you want visiting and when. Many parents prefer a "golden hour" (or longer) with no visitors after birth. It's much easier to enforce boundaries you've already communicated than to set them in the moment when you're exhausted and emotional.

Rooming in: Most hospitals now encourage rooming in (baby stays in your room rather than the nursery). If you want this, state it. If you'd like the option to send the baby to the nursery for a few hours so you can sleep, that's equally valid — note it in your plan.

C-Section Birth Plan

If you know in advance that you'll have a cesarean (planned C-section), or if you want preferences documented in case of an unplanned one, include a C-section section in your birth plan. Options to consider: whether you want a clear drape (so you can watch the birth), music in the operating room, immediate skin-to-skin in the OR (many hospitals now accommodate this), who accompanies you in the OR, and whether your partner can announce the baby's sex.

Our C-section preparation guide covers the surgery and recovery in detail. For unplanned C-sections, note your preferences in a "if a cesarean becomes necessary" section. Many hospitals can accommodate a support person in the room and early skin-to-skin even when the cesarean was not planned; in a true emergency they may not be possible, and the plan simply tells the team what to aim for.

Frequently Asked Questions