Your personal circumstances

Your birth plan is personal to you. It depends on what you want, your medical history, your circumstances and what is available at your maternity service. What may be safe and practical for one pregnant woman may not be a good idea for another.

You might be given a special form for your birth plan, or there may be room in your notes. It's a good idea to keep a copy of your birth plan with you.

The maternity team who care for you during labour will discuss it with you so they know what you want.

Be flexible

You need to be flexible and prepared to do things differently from your birth plan if complications arise with you or your baby, or if facilities such as a birth pool aren't available.

The maternity team will tell you what they advise in your particular circumstances. Don't hesitate to ask questions if you need to.

Things to consider

You can find out more about the things you need to think about when making a birth plan, such as:

• where you can give birth
• pain relief
• forceps or ventouse (intervention or instrumental delivery)
• caesarean section
• your baby after the birth

You can work out whether there's anything you feel strongly about and might wish to include. 

You and your partner can also think about what your birth partner can do to support you during labour.

Download a birth plan template

You can download a birth plan template to fill in and save.

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