Make a Birth Plan
By Deepi Brar
CONSUMER HEALTH INTERACTIVE
A birth plan is a way for you to consider your options for every stage of labor and birth and review your preferences with your health-care team. When the time comes, it's also a good way to remind yourself of the decisions you made before going into labor. After filling out the plan, go over it in person with each member of your health-care team so that everyone is working from the same information. Be aware that in some situations it may not be possible to stick to this plan exactly, so you'll need to be a little flexible. After you've discussed the plan with everyone and modified it as needed, fill out a fresh form and make a copy of the final version for each member of your team. This plan assumes that you'll be delivering in a hospital or other conventional setting, as the majority of women do. If you're planning a home birth, some of these options may not be relevant, but you should fill out each section anyway in case you end up having to go to a hospital in an emergency. (Even if you're planning a home birth you should choose an OB/GYN and hospital as a backup, and visit them to get familiar with their philosophies and policies on labor and delivery.) Remember, you don't have to fill out everything or follow this form exactly. If you don't have a personal preference on a certain procedure, or you wish to rely on the judgment of your medical team, then leave that section blank -- but be sure to ask your doctor or midwife what her preferences or policies are, so you're not surprised later. If you have additional comments, you can write them in the blank lines at the end of each section. Click here for the birth plan form (PDF file) (If this link doesn't work, you may need to download and install the Adobe Acrobat Reader. Click on the button to download the free software from Adobe Systems.) 
References
Pregnancy, Childbirth, and the Newborn by Penny Simkin, Janet Whalley, RN, and Anne Keppler, RN, of the Childbirth Association of Seattle. Meadowbrook Press, Minnetonka, MN, 2001.
Reviewed by Kelly Shanahan, MD, an OB/GYN in private practice in Lake Tahoe, California, and author of Your Over-35 Week-By-Week Pregnancy Guide, and by JoAnne Woodward, RNC, NP, owner of Seaside Women's Services in Marina Del Rey, California.
Our reviewers are members of Consumer Health Interactive's medical advisory board.
To learn more about our writers and editors, click here.
First published June 25, 2002
Last updated April 2, 2008
Copyright © 2002 Consumer Health Interactive
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