Short answer: A birth plan isn't a script; it's a short list of your preferences so the people caring for you know what matters to you when you can't easily say it. Keep it to one page. Include where you'd like to give birth, who you want with you, pain relief preferences, positions and equipment, skin-to-skin, cord clamping, feeding and vitamin K — and, most importantly, what you'd like if things don't go to plan. Talk it through with your midwife, and stay flexible.
A birth plan sounds like a script. It isn't. It's a way of telling the people around you who you are and what matters to you, so they can support you even when you're too busy giving birth to explain.
Keep it to one page
No one reads three pages during labour. Use short bullet points, with the most important things at the top.
What to include
- Place of birth: home, a midwife-led unit or hospital.
- Birth partners: who you want with you — including if you need an assisted birth (forceps or ventouse) or a caesarean — and who you don't.
- Atmosphere: dimmed lights, your own music, quiet, or plenty of chat and distraction.
- Staying active and positions: do you want to move around, use a birthing ball, mats, a stool or a pool?
- Pain relief: what you'd like to try, and whether you'd prefer to ask for it or be offered it. That difference matters to many people.
- Students: whether you're happy for midwives or doctors in training to be present.
- After the birth: immediate skin-to-skin, waiting before the cord is clamped, and who cuts it.
- Feeding: breast, bottle or both, and whether you'd like help with the first feed.
- Vitamin K for your baby, and whether by injection or by mouth.
Put at the top what matters if things change. For example: “If we need to change the plan, please tell me what's happening and why.” That line often makes the biggest difference to how a birth feels.
If things don't go to plan
Many births don't follow the plan exactly. It can help to add a short section on:
- what you'd like if labour needs to be induced or sped up;
- your preferences for an assisted birth or a caesarean — for example a screen lowered so you can see your baby born, or skin-to-skin in theatre if possible;
- what should happen if your baby needs special care, such as your partner going with the baby.
What to leave out
Things no one can promise: an exact length of labour, a guarantee that you won't need a caesarean, or detailed demands about every procedure. These tend to lead to disappointment rather than a sense of control.
Talk it through
Discuss your plan with your midwife in the later weeks of pregnancy. They know what's possible where you're giving birth and can explain your options. Take a few printed copies in your hospital bag — one for you, one for your birth partner and one for the team — or keep it in your maternity notes.
If you're anxious about the birth, say so in your plan and at your appointments. You can get extra support. See fear of giving birth.
When it goes differently
A plan that helped you think about what matters to you has done its job — even if very little went as written. A birth that changed course isn't a failure, and certainly not your failure.
A good birth isn't the one that went to plan. It's the one where you felt heard.
If you're left with difficult feelings afterwards, many hospitals offer a birth reflections or debrief service, where you can go through your notes with a midwife.
Related reading
- Caesarean birth: preparation and recovery
- The fourth trimester
- Starting breastfeeding: the first week
Prepared for any scenario: Ready for Birth (PDF, English) helps you approach your birth with confidence, without fear-mongering.
Sources
- NHS Best Start in Life — What to include in your birth plan.
- NHS — Pain relief in labour and Where to give birth: the options.
- NCT — Pregnancy and birth information.
Written by the Bloom Guides editorial team. Last updated: 20 October 2026. General information only — not a substitute for advice from your midwife or doctor.