The day you welcome your baby into the world is momentous. From early in your pregnancy, you can start exploring the choices available for your birthing experience. Planning ahead gives you time to learn about your options, reflect on what matters most to you, and create a birth plan that clearly communicates your preferences to your healthcare team.

A birth plan is a short written document outlining your goals and desires for labor, delivery, and the early postpartum period. It helps your providers understand your wishes so they can support you in the best way possible. For clarity, your birth plan should be concise and easy to read. Long, paragraph-form documents may be difficult for caregivers to review quickly, so outlining key points ensures nothing important is overlooked.

What Is the Purpose of a Birth Plan?

A written plan provides a summary of your preferences for labor, delivery, and postpartum care. It allows your healthcare team to understand:

  • The involvement of your partner, family, or support team
  • Your desired type of delivery
  • Pain management choices, including medication or epidural anesthesia
  • Preferences for immediate bonding and breastfeeding
  • Timing of your baby's first bath and other newborn care and exams

By documenting these choices, you ensure your wishes are considered during your hospital stay.

What Should Your Birthing Environment Look Like?

When envisioning your birth space, consider the atmosphere you want. Do you prefer dim lighting? Minimal interruptions? Music? Some parents create playlists to foster a calming environment. Think about who you want in the room—whether just your partner or additional support people like a doula, family, or friends. If you have specific visitors in mind, list their names in your birth plan so your healthcare team knows who is permitted in your space. Also, check your hospital's visitor policies in advance.

How Would You Like to Manage Labor?

Every woman has different preferences for coping with labor, including movement, pain management, and medical interventions.

Movement

Staying active during labor can promote progression. Include preferences for positions, movement, and hydrotherapy—if available—in your written plan, so your care team can offer you the support you need.  

Labor Interventions

Interventions like membrane sweeping, breaking the amniotic sac, or Pitocin administration may be offered to speed labor along. Research these options to determine your preferences. Include information about the use and timing of IV fluids and medication, continuous or intermittent fetal monitoring, and cervical checks. Discuss these choices with your provider.

Pain Management

Options range from natural techniques like massage, breathing exercises, and hydrotherapy to pharmaceutical pain relief such as nitrous oxide and epidurals. Documenting these preferences helps guide your health care team during labor.

How Will You Deliver Your Baby?

When the time comes to push, different positions may be more comfortable for you. Some mothers prefer hands-and-knees, squatting, or other positions. Your written plan can outline:

  • Preferred type of delivery: vaginal, assisted, or planned cesarean
  • Use of a mirror to see the birth of your baby
  • Coached vs. spontaneous pushing
  • Positions for pushing and delivery

You can also note in your plan whether you’d like the freedom to choose your position in the moment. Flexibility is just as important.

What Happens After Delivery?

Once your baby is born, the "Golden Hour" is a crucial time for bonding and initiating breastfeeding. Your birth plan can specify your preference for immediate skin-to-skin contact and delayed cord clamping. If you have a specific person in mind to cut the umbilical cord, include this in your plan.

What If You Have a Cesarean?

Even if you’re planning a vaginal birth, it’s beneficial to familiarize yourself with cesarean procedures just in case. Having preferences in mind can make an unexpected cesarean feel more prepared and empowering. Even with a planned cesarean, you may still be able to request a more gentle, family centered experience, such as having a clear drape to see your baby, immediate skin-to-skin contact in the OR, personalized music, or additional support persons present.

Many providers already incorporate many of these procedures into their standard of care, but it's always good to have these conversations early. Discussing your preferences while you are still pregnant can help you feel more supported if a cesarean delivery becomes part of your birth story.

How Should Your Early Postpartum Care Be Planned?

Outline your preferences for:

  • Pain medication options

  • Rooming-in vs. nursery care

  • Breastfeeding support from lactation consultants

  • Timing of your baby's first bath

  • When you'd like to head home from the hospital

Documenting these ensures your early postpartum period aligns with your wishes and helps breastfeeding get off to a solid start.

How Do You Create a Birth Plan?

Educate Yourself About Your Birthing Options

Knowledge is empowering. Take a childbirth class, read books, watch birth videos, and look into hiring a doula. Programs like Aeroflow’s virtual two-part series, Birth and Breastfeeding, available through insurance, can help you explore labor support, pain medication, and delivery options.

Consider Personal Health Factors

Review any personal health considerations or risk factors such as:

  • Pregnancy-related diagnoses
  • Chronic health conditions
  • Past birth experiences

Early in your planning, collaborate closely with your healthcare provider to discuss how these factors may influence your birthing experience. This conversation helps you understand what is possible, clarify your options, and ensure your birth plan reflects realistic and safe preferences.

Communicate with Your Support Team

Finally, review your options with your partner and decide what’s most important for your support team—partner, family, friends, or a doula—to know. This step ensures everyone can help you achieve your vision of your baby's birth.

Personalized Support from Aeroflow

As you bring everything together, additional tools can help make the process simpler. Aeroflow offers one-on-one birth plan consultations, where a specialist walks through your preferences, answers questions, and helps you feel more confident. To get started, you can explore our Vaginal Birth Plan Template and Cesarean Birth Plan Template, which walk you step-by-step through the most important decisions in an easy checklist format. With these resources in hand, you’ll be able to communicate your preferences to your healthcare team with clarity and confidence.

Making Your Birth Plan Part of Your Health Care

Your preferences are unique to you! While birth is unpredictable, being informed and surrounding yourself with trusted support can help you feel empowered. A thoughtfully prepared birth plan serves as your guide, helping you communicate your wishes clearly, make confident decisions in the moment, and collaborate effectively with your healthcare team. Remember, your plan is a flexible tool—not a script—so you can adapt as needed while still honoring your goals.for labor, delivery, and the early postpartum period. Ultimately, having a plan in place can help create a calmer, more positive experience for both you and your baby, supporting a strong start to breastfeeding and early bonding.

Disclaimer: Our classes and accompanying materials are intended for general education purposes and should not replace medical advice. For personalized recommendations, please consult your healthcare provider and/or lactation consultant.