What to Expect mom Amber E. is in her second trimester and starting to think about her plan for labor and delivery. "As a first-time mom, I don't know what I like or want,” she writes to the WTE First Time Mom Community group. “How do I make a birth plan my own — and do I need one? I don't feel strongly about how I deliver."
Amber’s uncertainty about how to dictate a plan for her birth is pretty common. Many soon-to-be moms are told to write a birth plan, but don’t know what it should include. Birth is unpredictable — how much direction can a mom-to-be really give her OB/GYN?
A detailed birth plan can actually be a great way to open a dialogue with your care team about what’s important to you in the delivery and recovery room. Rather than thinking about a birth plan as a step-by-step guide for your doctor, treat it as a preference list. It can outline what's most important to you for your birth, knowing there may be some pivots along the way.
There's also no pressure to put together a birth plan at all. The decision to write one is almost split between WTE moms — 53% create a birth plan, while 47% don't, according to a January 2025 poll.
Not sure where you land? The What to Expect app offers daily tips and expert advice that can help you figure out what feels right for you — whether you’re team plan-ahead or take-it-as-it-comes.
If you’re looking to start the conversation around what you want in labor and delivery with your doctor, here are some things to consider.
A birth plan is ultimately a "wish list" for labor and delivery and can be a great way to open a dialogue with your care team.
Birth is unpredictable, though, so it's important to remember that things may change in the moment.
You can make your birth plan feel unique for you, whether it's a few bullet points or a super-detailed list.
What is a birth plan?
A birth plan is typically a written plan that communicates your wishes and goals for before, during and after labor and delivery. In it, you can work with your provider to outline a best-case birthing scenario: how you would ideally like labor and delivery to play out if all goes according to "plan."
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Besides listing your preferences, a birth plan factors in what's practical, what's feasible and what your practitioner and hospital or birthing center has available or will accommodate. "You can use a birth plan as another tool in your toolbox for both educating yourself about labor and preparing yourself for choices and events that may arise," says Shannon Smith, M.D., OB/GYN and What to Expect Medical Review Board member.
Most women discuss their birth plan with their providers during a routine visit sometime in the third trimester. They then bring this written birth plan with them to the hospital for labor.
“In the last few weeks of pregnancy, you will be seeing your doctors every week," says Jennifer Wu, M.D., OB/GYN and What to Expect Medical Review Board member. "There is plenty of opportunity to talk about what you would wish to happen at the birth."
Do you need to create a birth plan?
Your provider may ask you to fill out a birth plan to bring to them during an upcoming appointment. While a birth plan isn’t mandatory, some parents-to-be find that it gives them a chance to consider their choices and feel prepared.
"I think they can be a very helpful educational tool for patients to understand all the different pathways and choices that can happen during labor," says Dr. Smith.
A birth plan may head off unrealistic expectations, minimize disappointment and eliminate any potential conflict or miscommunication during labor and delivery. If you feel overwhelmed by the idea of writing anything down, talk to your provider about ways you can feel prepared without a written plan.
"For some women, this process creates more anxiety than it’s worth, and they prefer just to let things happen," says Dr. Smith.
Although some of your plans can likely be carried out the way you wrote them, your provider will also take into account how your pregnancy is going and whether or not certain accommodations need to be made, like extra monitoring or a C-section, for example.
“If labor were predictable, then everyone would have the same labor," says Dr. Wu. "Keep in mind that things can change by the minute, and in an emergency, the birth plan will go out the window. The only birth plan will be to keep you and the baby alive and well."
What information should a birth plan include?
There are as many different birth plan examples as women who give birth, so don’t worry about putting together the “right one” for your labor and delivery. It doesn't have to be perfect!
You also don't have to follow a set template or make the plan too formal: You can freestyle it by simply jotting down a few of the issues that concern you the most and then bring them up with your practitioner at your next visit. Remember, not all of your choices may be possible at your hospital or birth center. They may also need to be adjusted depending on how your labor progresses.
Birth plans can be...
Here's some information you might want to include in your birth plan:
Requests for the delivery room atmosphere:
Who you want to have with you during labor and/or at delivery — such as your partner, a doula, friends or family
If you hope to eat or drink during active labor
If you want to be out of bed (walking around or sitting up) during labor
Any equipment — exercise ball, in-room shower, birthing tub — you may want available for use in active labor
Specific birthing positions you'd like your practitioner to support you in
Requests for during labor and delivery:
The type of birth you're planning (i.e. vaginal, C-section), plus what you'd like to do in the event you need a C-section or other intervention
If you'd like an epidural, other pain medication or alternatives to pain meds
If you're okay with your provider breaking your water — or prefer they didn't
If you have any wishes about external and internal electronic fetal monitoring
If you have preferences regarding the use of an IV or catheter
Your wishes around oxytocin to induce or augment labor contractions
Your views on the use of interventions like vacuum extraction or forceps to assist in the birth of your child
Requests for newborn care:
Special requests you have around suctioning your baby
Preferences around skin-to-skin contact after birth
Any plans regarding immediate breastfeeding and whether you'd like a lactation consultant present
When (and who) you'd like to cut the cord, plus whether you'll do cord blood banking
If you'd like to postpone weighing your baby and/or administering eye drops until after you and your baby greet each other
Many moms in the WTE Community share various checklists for inspiration as they write up their own plans.
A good rule of thumb? Have several copies of your provider-approved birth plan with you when you go to the hospital or birthing center. That way, you can have them available for both your delivery and post-birth teams.
"The empowering part of a birth plan is educating yourself so that in the face of choices, unexpected turns or emergencies, you have given yourself the power to understand and make choices that are best for the health of your child and yourself," says Dr. Smith. "Because at the end of the day, the most important part of the birth plan is the end when the baby is safely in your arms." Here's to a safe — and empowering — labor.
Methodology
The Everyday Health Group Pregnancy & Parenting Talk to Moms® Monthly Poll was conducted by Everyday Health Group – Pregnancy and Parenting between January 28 and 29, 2025. We surveyed 387 U.S. respondents aged 18 to 45 who have at least one child up to 5 years old. The survey was fielded among the Dynata Research Panel.
Additional reporting by Olivia DeLong, April 2025.
How can I make sure my provider actually acknowledges my birth plan?
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