Birth Plan Template
A one-page birth plan: the room, pain relief, labour, the birth, a caesarean if needed, after the birth and feeding.
Details
birth plan templateRed highlights mark what is still blank. Everything stays on this device.
| Name | [your name] |
| Due date | [date] |
| Birth partner | [who will be with you] |
This plan sets out what I would like if all goes well. I understand that plans can change for my baby’s safety or mine, and I would like the reasons explained to me when they do.
Pain relief
I would like to decide on the day.
During labor
[what you would like during labor, one per line]
The birth
[what you would like at the birth, one per line]
After the birth
[what you would like after the birth, one per line]
Feeding
Breastfeeding.
What is a Birth Plan?
A birth plan is a one-page record of what you would like during labor and birth: the room, pain relief, who is with you, how the baby is born, what happens right after and how you plan to feed. It tells a team you may be meeting for the first time what matters to you. Without one, your preferences exist only in your head at the moment you are least able to explain them.
Parents-to-be usually write one during pregnancy, take it to a prenatal appointment, and pack copies for the hospital or birth center. It helps most when your own doctor or midwife may not be on shift, when your birth partner needs to speak up for you, and when you have specific needs: an allergy, a medical condition, a previous difficult birth, a disability, religious or cultural practices, or a language the staff may not share. Partners and doulas use it too, as a reminder of what you asked for when you cannot say it yourself.
What you can ask for depends on where you give birth. Hospitals and birth centers set their own policies on how many birth partners can stay, eating and drinking in labor, photos and video, birth pools, monitoring and which pain relief is available, and a freestanding birth center may not offer every option a hospital does. Ask for the unit's policies on a tour or at a prenatal visit. In the UK, the NHS encourages you to talk your preferences through with your midwife, and they may be recorded in your maternity notes. In Canada, Australia and India, ask your provider or hospital how they record them.
A birth plan is not a contract and not medical advice. It does not oblige staff to follow it, and it does not replace the conversations and the consent you give or refuse at the time. Plans change for safety reasons — the baby's position, your health, how labor progresses — so a good plan includes what you would like if things change. Which options to choose is a conversation for you and your doctor or midwife; this guide does not recommend any of them.
What to put in a Birth Plan
These are the details this template asks for. Anything left blank is marked in red on the preview so you can see what is still missing.
| Field | What goes in it |
|---|---|
| Your name | For example: Emily Carter |
| Due date | Free text |
| Midwife or doctor optional | For example: Dr. Anita Shah, OB-GYN |
| Hospital or birth centre optional | For example: Riverside Methodist Hospital |
| Birth partner(s) | For example: Daniel Brooks (partner); my sister Kate may visit |
| The room optional | One per line |
| Pain relief | Free text |
| More on pain relief optional | One per line |
| During labour | One per line |
| The birth | One per line |
| If a caesarean is needed optional | One per line |
| After the birth | One per line |
| Feeding | Free text |
| Anything else optional | Allergies, fears, cultural or religious wishes |
How to write a Birth Plan
Put the essentials at the top
Start with your name, due date, the doctor or midwife leading your care, the hospital or birth center, and your birth partner's name and phone number. Then list allergies and medical conditions in plain words where nobody can miss them. ‘Allergy: latex’ in the first lines gets seen; the same fact tucked into the feeding section may not. Keep the whole plan to one page.
Describe the room and your support
Say what helps you feel calm and in control: dim lights, your own music, quiet voices, fewer people coming and going. Name who you want with you, and anyone you do not want in the room. Note practical needs such as an interpreter, hearing or mobility support, or whether you are happy for students to observe, so staff can arrange them before you arrive rather than mid-labor.
Write pain relief as preferences
List the options you would like to try, any you would rather avoid, and how you want them offered: ‘Please offer, but let me decide’ is different from ‘Please don’t offer; I’ll ask’. Leave the choice of methods to your conversation with your doctor or midwife, and ask them which ones the unit actually provides, so your list matches what will be available on the day.
Cover labor, the birth and a cesarean
Under labor, note your wishes on moving around, positions, eating and drinking, and monitoring, phrased as questions where you are unsure. Under the birth, add details such as who tells you the baby's sex, who cuts the cord, and whether you want a mirror. If a cesarean is needed, say what would matter to you then: your partner with you, the screen lowered, skin-to-skin in the operating room if possible.
Plan after the birth and feeding
Record what you would like in the first hours: skin-to-skin contact, who holds the baby first, time together before weighing, and any routine newborn care you want explained before it happens. For feeding, say whether you plan to breastfeed, formula feed or combine, and what help you would like. Print the plan, go through it at a prenatal appointment, and pack copies in the hospital bag.
Common mistakes
- Writing several pages means staff skim it during a busy shift, and the line that matters most, such as an allergy, gets lost.
- Wording preferences as rigid demands leaves no room for a plan B, so the whole plan can be set aside the moment circumstances change.
- Not discussing the plan before the due date means you find out in labor that the unit has no birth pool or limits how many partners can stay.
- Leaving the only copy at home or on your phone puts the plan out of reach at the moment staff need to read it.
- Not going through the plan with your birth partner leaves the one person who can speak for you unsure what you wanted.
Frequently asked questions
What should I include in a birth plan?
Start with your name, due date, care provider, hospital or birth center and birth partner, then allergies and medical conditions. Add your preferences for the room, pain relief, labor (moving around, positions, monitoring), the birth itself, a cesarean if one is needed, the first hours after birth and feeding. Include anything personal, such as religious practices or an interpreter. Which options to choose is for you and your doctor or midwife to discuss.
When should I write my birth plan?
During pregnancy, once you have learned about the options and, if you can, toured the hospital or birth center. Leave time to discuss it at a prenatal appointment well before your due date, since babies do not always wait for it. Revise it after that conversation, share the final version with your birth partner, and pack copies in your hospital bag early.
Do hospitals follow birth plans?
Staff generally read them and try to meet your preferences where it is safe to do so, but a birth plan is not binding, and plans change for safety reasons. It works best when you have discussed it beforehand, so you know which requests the unit can meet and staff know what matters most to you. If something on it cannot happen, ask the team to explain why and what the alternatives are.
How long should a birth plan be?
One page. Staff often meet you mid-shift and need to take it in at a glance, so use short headings and brief lines, with allergies and medical conditions at the top. If a preference needs context — a previous birth, anxiety, a cultural practice — give it one clear sentence rather than a paragraph. Anything longer belongs in a conversation with your midwife or doctor before the birth.
What if my birth plan changes?
That is normal, and it does not mean the plan failed. Before the birth, update it whenever your wishes change, tell your birth partner and swap the copies in your bag. During labor, if the situation changes, the team should explain what is happening and what the options are, and you can ask questions before deciding. An ‘if things change’ section, including a cesarean, keeps some of your preferences in play.
This page explains general practice and is not legal advice. Requirements differ between countries and, in some cases, between states — check what applies where the document will be used.