Planning for your baby's birth

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Birth planning

A birth plan is a way of conveying your wishes for your baby’s birth and for the care of your baby and you. It can include preferences for labor and birth, such as pain relief for you, and goals for after your baby’s birth, such as ways to create memories together and include family and friends. You can also integrate your baby’s medical care plan, outlining your decisions regarding evaluations and testing, aggressive intervention, and palliative care.

 

The benefits of having a written birth plan in a situation like yours, in which time will be of the essence, are many and very real—for you as well as your caregivers. For you, it can provide a format to help you think about the upcoming birth, understand your options, explore what other parents have chosen, and evaluate what will be important to you. A birth plan can decrease your anxiety by ensuring that your wishes are clearly communicated and by giving you a sense of control in a situation where so many things may feel out of your control. It provides a structure so you and your caregivers can work together to make your baby’s birth as close to what you are envisioning as possible.

 

A birth plan can also benefit your caregivers in important ways. It can offer insight into your needs and desires so they don’t have to try to read your mind. It ensures that all parties have similar information. It allows for advance planning and offers a format for discussion. Having this information ahead of time decreases their anxiety, too. A birth plan gives all of you a road map to follow together.

 

Download a pdf of a birth plan template