If you’ve ever felt unsure about whether you need a birth plan — or heard someone say, “You can’t plan birth!” — this one’s for you.

I’m a midwife, birth educator, and mum of two, and I’ve supported hundreds of women through pregnancy and birth. And let me say this: yes, birth is unpredictable... but that doesn’t mean you can’t prepare.

In fact, the right kind of birth plan — one that’s flexible, collaborative, and clear — can make a huge difference to how you experience your birth.

Here’s why it matters, what to include, and how to make one that your care provider will LOVE!

Why Having a Birth Plan is About More Than Control

We don’t create a birth plan to script every second of labour. We create it so:

You understand your options ahead of time
Your care provider knows what matters to you
Your partner can advocate for you if needed
And you feel more confident, calm, and in control

A Birth plan is a document that serves as a powerful communication tool.

A 2022 systematic integrative review by Bell, Muggleton and Davis found that collaborative birth plans — the kind developed with your care provider — are linked to:

Better communication
Higher satisfaction with birth
A greater sense of control
And, in many cases, more positive birth outcomes

Women whose birth plans were self-prepared and never discussed with their care provider were more likely to feel disappointed or out of control.

This speaks to how having these conversations about specific scenarios and all possibilities is part of the process in considering and reflecting on what you want (or don’t want) and what is important to you for your birth and after it.

How to Make a Birth Plan..

I see a lot of well-intentioned birth plans that don’t quite work — because they’re hard to use in practice.

Here are some quick tips that can help make your birth plan actually useful for your team:

1. Keep it short and clear

Ideally: one page.
Dot points. Clear headings. No long paragraphs.
Your midwife might be caring for multiple women at once, or you might have medical staff come in, having it nice and clear on one page means its easy to see and scan and find the information quickly.

Focus on what you do want, not just what you don’t

Saying “I don’t want an epidural” is fine, but what’s even better is adding, “I’d like to try the TENS machine, breathwork, and hands-on support before considering pain relief.”

Writing down what your plan is to work with pain means that we don’t have to disrupt your labour to talk you through all your options (unless you want to of course) and it also means that your care provider won’t accidentally derail your mindset by offering you something you may not want.

3. Plan for all birth paths

Not just the one you hope for. I always say, “Sexy is flexy.”
Include what you want for a vaginal birth, assisted birth (e.g. forceps or vacuum), and caesarean — because even if birth changes course, you’ve already thought it through AND even in these scenarios there are things you may have control over.

4. Talk about it early and often

Take your birth plan to your antenatal appointments and work on Building it throughout your pregnancy. Discuss each section with your partner and your care team. It’s much easier to have these conversations BEFORE you’re in the intensity of labour.

5. Know that what you put on there isn’t set in stone! You can still change your mind at anytime…

Sometimes I think one of the reasons people shy away from having a birth plan can be because they feel it’s setting them up to fail, but really it’s the opposite - whatever you decide on is still changeable and you are allowed to change your mind, and your birth plan.

What Should You Include in a Birth Plan?

Here’s a quick list to start with:

Your birth space preferences (lighting, support people, music, etc.)
Comfort + working with pain options you’d like to try (TENS, acupressure, etc.) - do you have a plan to use one thing, a combination, the ‘ladder approach?
Pushing and Birthing your baby - directed vs physiological pushing? Do you want to catch your baby? Do you want your partner to be involved? Would you like a warm compress on your perineum?
How you'd like to be supported emotionally and physically - do you have specific words, phrases, reminders that you’d like used (or not!)
How are you going to birth your placenta? Active or physiological management? Would you like delyayed cord clamping?
The time after birth - what’s important to you? How do you want that to look?
Your Baby - how do you plan to feed? What about if you are separated?
Preferences for an assisted and a caesarean birth

If you want a guide to walk you through this…

👉 Download my free Plan Like a Pro guide here
👉 Or grab my one-page Birth Plan Template (loved by midwives and doctors) here

What If I Just Want to Wing It? + What if my care-provider doesnt believe in Birth Plans?

Great question — and I answered these in this week’s Ask A Midwife episode on the podcast.

In that bite-sized ep, I unpack:

Why “winging it’ or going with the flow kind of… sucks
What to do if your care provider doesn’t believe in birth plans

🎧 Listen to the Ask A Midwife ep here → The Midwife Memos Podcast

And if you haven’t caught the full episode on birth plans, it’s packed with research, real tips, and practical tools to get you thinking ahead.
Start there → Listen to the full episode

Plus, in person classes are back!

Dates are up here starting from May 10th @ bodybegood.
Join me for a day of getting both yours and your partner’s mindset in a positive space, plus all the other important bits to understand your body and have tools to work with labour, however it plays out.

Book here

*Information shared is of a general nature only and is not medical advice — please see your own care provider for specific and individualised information and advice. All personal stories & photos shared with permission.

Keep reading: