Need Help Writing Your Birth Plan? – 7 Tips from a Full Spectrum Doula
- Brainz Magazine
- Feb 21
- 11 min read
Lamar Greene is a passionate full-spectrum doula, spiritual life coach, and budding community herbalist with a meaningful background in reproductive health advocacy both in the U.S. and globally. They are the founder of Doula Alchemist Healing, a Black and Queer-owned healing practice centered around reproductive justice and spirituality.
Giving birth and starting a family is a significant milestone in anyone’s life. It is a life-changing event. Giving birth is also a pivotal moment in the life course from a health perspective, for both the baby and the mother or birthing person. In addition to prioritizing safety, health, and wellness, more birthing individuals are seeking meaningful and dignified birthing experiences on their terms. Birth plans have gained considerable attention as tools to inform healthcare providers of preferences during labor and birth, ensuring bodily autonomy, informed consent, and quality care. This article will explain what a birth plan is and provide seven tips for writing your own.
What is a birth plan?
A birth plan is a written document that outlines your preferences for labor, birth, early postpartum, and infant care. Think of it as a roadmap for your birthing experience. It is designed to help you structure your research on the labor and birth process while also organizing your thoughts on the many aspects you must consider.
A birth plan covers everything from logistics, such as where you plan to give birth and who your intended provider will be, to care choices, including whether you want medical interventions as part of your experience. The Bump, a multi-platform digital resource for parents and parents-to-be, offers a helpful birth planning tool that includes a checklist and template to guide you in getting started.
Your birth plan should ideally be one page but no longer than two pages. This ensures the material is digestible and easily read by anyone on your birth team. A primary purpose of a birth plan is to facilitate an ongoing discussion with your healthcare provider. This helps establish a shared decision-making model for making informed choices about the health of the birthing person and their baby.
Additionally, because the doctor or midwife who provides your prenatal care may not always be the same provider who attends your birth, your birth plan should effectively communicate your intentions to whoever cares for you. A clear and concise birth plan increases the likelihood of this happening.
Expanding your perspective on “birth plans”
A birth plan is just that, a plan. No matter how much preparation goes into it, birth is unpredictable. Some elements are simply outside your control, and babies seem to come earthside when they want to. It’s important to remember to stay open to change.
Still, the idea of having a plan can make us feel compelled to stick to it, even when we don’t need to or when it’s no longer beneficial. For this reason, some birth workers have moved away from the term “birth plan” in favor of alternatives like “birth wish list,” “birth intentions,” or “birth preferences.” For some, this language feels more fluid.
People should know that they can change their minds about what they want for their birth experience, even during labor. While this article will continue using the term “birth plan,” it does so with this broader perspective in mind.
When should you write your birth plan?
While there is no strict rule about when to write your birth plan, starting earlier is likely to work to your advantage. Not only does early planning help reduce any anxiety you may have about your birth, but it also gives you time to discuss your plan with important people.
If you haven’t already, consider writing your birth plan with your partner, if you have one, or with any family members or friends who will be supporting you during labor. You can also share the document with them afterward and have a discussion, it’s entirely up to you.
You should also share your birth plan with your healthcare provider and birth team. Doing so early allows time to discuss different interventions, ask pressing questions, and clarify any potential misunderstandings.
You may be wondering what counts as early. In some cultures and communities, it is considered bad luck to announce a pregnancy before the end of the first trimester, or 12 to 13 weeks of gestation. In respect of that cultural practice, you might aim to write your birth plan in your second trimester.
A general guideline that some birth workers recommend is to complete it by or around the start of the third trimester, or 28 weeks of gestation. Still, the decision of when to write your birth plan is entirely yours.
You can also use your due range, the period two to three weeks before and after your estimated due date, as a starting point and work backward from there. In that case, your goal could be to have your birth plan completed a month before your due range begins.
7 tips for writing your birth plan
1. Decide where you want to give birth
Thinking about where you want to give birth is a major decision, and there are key factors to consider in determining what is best for you. Planned births can take place in a hospital, birth center, or home birth setting. Each option has its pros and cons, but with proper planning, they can all provide a safe and meaningful birthing experience.
A birth center birth or planned home birth may be the right choice if you want minimal medical interventions, greater control over the birthing process, and specific cultural or religious practices honored. Additionally, a home birth allows you to give birth in familiar surroundings with a provider of your choice. A birth center birth, attended by a midwife in a private room or suite, offers a holistic approach with fewer pharmacological pain management methods and fewer medical interventions overall.
Planned home births and birth center births are not without their limitations, though. According to the Mayo Clinic, most pregnant people who have planned home births deliver without any problems, but planned home births are associated with a higher risk of certain infant health concerns compared to planned hospital births. Making a plan with your midwife or doctor, along with considering several other factors, can help reduce these risks.
Birth centers and home birth settings generally offer limited medical interventions within their scope of practice. It is important to know the hospitals closest to your home or birth center and have a transfer plan in place in case emergency care is needed. Additionally, if you have a high-risk pregnancy, such as carrying twins or multiples, you will likely be advised to give birth at a hospital, as other settings are intended for low-risk pregnancies.
Hospitals provide access to emergency care if needed and offer more pain control options, yet they may limit the number of support people allowed in the delivery room and impose restrictions that make the environment less comfortable. If you are planning to give birth in a hospital, consider choosing a baby-friendly hospital if one is available to you.
Baby-friendly hospitals earn this designation based on their active promotion of skin-to-skin contact, early initiation of breastfeeding and chestfeeding, and rooming-in, where birthing parents and newborns stay together for the duration of their hospital stay. The bonding measures promoted by baby-friendly hospitals are essential for the baby’s physical, social-emotional, and mental development.
As you can see, choosing where to give birth is an important decision that affects other aspects of your birth plan.
2. Do your research
Having the information you need empowers you to make informed decisions and advocate for the birth experience you deserve. After determining your birth location, it is recommended that you research the policies at the hospital or birth center where you plan to give birth, as well as the hospital listed in your transfer plan. You want to ensure those policies align with your birth intentions as much as possible.
It is also important to know your rights in the birth space, especially federal and state laws regarding your right to refuse care you do not want. Your research may include gaining an understanding of the various medical interventions available.
Additionally, please remember that you are not alone on your journey. You can consult your midwife or doctor, hire a doula, attend childbirth education classes, and join support groups for new and expecting parents.
3. Reflect on whether you want medical or non-medical interventions
There are several debates surrounding interventions, pain management, and coping strategies for labor and birth. Everyone is entitled to bodily autonomy, the right to make decisions about one’s own body, health, and life without coercion. So, tune out the noise, gather the evidence-based information you need, and make the decisions that work best for you and your health.
Consider your ability to manage physical discomfort or pain and what you feel comfortable having used on or in your body. If this is not your first birth, reflect on your previous experience. What would you like to keep the same, and what would you like to do differently for this birth?
A powerful informed decision-making framework from the doula world is B.R.A.I.N. This framework guides you in asking your healthcare provider the following questions about any medical intervention:
What are the benefits?
What are the risks?
What are the alternatives?
Can I get more information?
What happens if I do nothing?
B.R.A.I.N. can be used during the prenatal period, labor and delivery, postpartum, and beyond. The framework can also be applied to newborn interventions, which is important because newborn care is an essential consideration in birth planning.
In addition to any wisdom from cultural traditions, you may also want to gather evidence-based information to determine which medical interventions, if any, you want for yourself and your baby. Evidence Based Birth® is an excellent resource for accessible information about interventions across the continuum of pregnancy, birth, and postpartum.
4. Contingency planning. Contingency planning. Contingency planning
As mentioned earlier in the article, contingency planning is a crucial aspect of your birth plan. I want you to take a moment to sit with the idea that everything may not go according to Plan A for your birth. For this reason, it is recommended that you outline a Plan B and Plan C in your birth plan.
This preparation can help prevent panic in moments of unexpected change during your birth experience because you took the time to plan for different possibilities. Changes may arise due to the unpredictable nature of birth or simply because you change your mind in the moment. Either way, incorporating contingency planning into your birth plan ensures that your intentions remain centered, even when changes beyond your control occur.
5. Identify the members of your birth team
Giving birth does not have to be something you do alone; instead, it can be a shared experience with the support of your village and community. It is important to identify people you trust to be part of your birth team and assign support roles based on your needs.
If you have a partner, will they be able to attend prenatal care appointments with you? If not, is there a friend or family member who can go with you if that’s what you want? Who among your family and friends will be present at your birth or available to support you postpartum? Will someone be able to help with household maintenance while you are giving birth?
These are some details to consider while birth planning. Adding the names and roles of the people on your birth team to your birth plan is important.
You will want to identify the midwife or doctor who will be attending your birth. Ask about their philosophy and approach to see if it aligns with your birthing intentions. Also, keep in mind that the doctor who provides your prenatal care may not be the same doctor who attends your delivery in a hospital setting. You can ask your prenatal care doctor about the likelihood of them attending and inquire about the approach of any alternative doctors.
You may also want to consider whether hiring a doula is right for you. If so, plan with your doula how they can support you and your loved ones during birth and postpartum.
Lactation consultants can also be invaluable members of your birth team, supporting infant feeding immediately after birth and in the long term postpartum. Many hospitals and birth centers have lactation consultants on staff, but if not, you may want to consider hiring one yourself.
6. Choose your birth bag must-haves and plan household maintenance
Your birth bag, which contains items you need for labor, delivery, and early postpartum, is an essential part of your birth plan. Think about your birth intentions and the things that will make you comfortable; these are the items that should go in your birth bag. Some examples include your birth plan, comfortable clothes, extra socks and underwear, baby clothes, toiletries, sanitary pads, blankets, towels, massage oils, coconut water, and light snacks.
Regardless of your intended birth location, you should consider preparing a birth bag. Even for a planned home birth, it will be easier to have everything you need in one place rather than searching for items when the time comes.
After writing your birth plan, or as your due range approaches, you can place your birth bag in the car along with a rear-facing car seat. You can also keep it near the front door or in another easily accessible location.
When packing your birth bag, make sure you have a plan for when you go into labor. A common guideline for when to go to your birth location is the 4-1-1 rule, meaning contractions occur every four minutes, each lasting one minute, and this pattern continues for at least one hour. Still, you should talk to your midwife or doctor about when to call them and come in.
It is also important to have a plan for how you will get to and from your birth location. Coordinating birth bag planning with a doula, family member, or friend can be helpful so they can bring any essentials if, for any reason, you are unable to bring your birth bag.
Household maintenance is another important consideration. You may want to designate someone from your birth team to care for pets, plants, or other children while you are away.
7. Prepare for the postpartum period
The immediate postpartum period, or the first couple of hours following delivery, is a sacred time. Skin-to-skin contact after birth provides numerous health benefits for everyone involved. Similarly, breastfeeding or chestfeeding is another baby-bonding activity with several reported health benefits for both the birthing person and the newborn.
Consider the baby-bonding activities you want to engage in and ensure that your intended birth location supports them. Thinking about placenta care is another important consideration. You may choose to delay cord clamping or allow it to fall off on its own. Additionally, you can take your placenta home for use in rituals or cultural practices that are meaningful to you.
Lastly, you can create a long-term postpartum plan for your transition to parenthood, though this is generally done separately from your birth plan.
Let’s connect you to empowering reproductive care support
Are you ready to experience transformative guidance and support during your birth or reproductive care journey? Whether you are navigating the changes of postpartum life, seeking nonjudgmental support alongside abortion care, or setting intentions for an affirming birth experience, I am here to be a grounding and compassionate support person for you and your loved ones.
Check out my service offerings and book a free 30-minute consultation call to take the first step toward a more empowering reproductive care journey.
Read more from Lamar Greene
Lamar Greene, Full-Spectrum Doula and Spiritual Coach
Lamar Greene is a passionate reproductive justice advocate who has answered their calling as a healer. Greene is a full-spectrum doula, spiritual life coach, and budding community herbalist motivated by their mother’s birthing narrative and their own life’s journey. They earned their Full Spectrum Doula Certification with Birthing Advocacy Doula Training and completed their Spiritual Life Coach Certification with Transformation Academy™. Their interest in spirituality was sparked in 2017 by a summer study abroad trip, where they lived and learned amongst Tibetan monastic communities in India. They are the founder of Doula Alchemist Healing, a Black and Queer-owned healing practice centered around reproductive justice and spirituality.
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