Birth plan
A birth plan outlines your labor and delivery preferences, serving as a tool to communicate your priorities and to initiate a meaningful dialogue with your healthcare provider about available options.
What to include in a birth plan
- Where you want to deliver
- Labor environment (in a quiet space, music playing, in a bath, with lots of support people, etc.)
- Who do you want present
- Concerns or fears about your labor or birth
- Preferred pain management options
- Desired positions for birth
- Post-birth decisions (delayed cord clamping, skin to skin following birth, etc.)
When you come to The Mother Baby Center to deliver your baby, be sure to share your birth plan with your care team and nurses. They will use it so that they know what techniques you’d like to try for breathing, pushing and delivery, and, if necessary, what your preferences are for medical intervention and delivery.
Download our birth plan template. It can help you think through and record your preferences for your labor, childbirth, and hospital stay.
How to make a birth plan: what you need to know
What is a birth plan and how do you make one? Look at our birth plan example and find out who and what to include when making your birth plan to prepare for the labor and delivery of your little one.
Birth Compass, by Allina Health and Patient Wisdom
We want to do an even better job of listening, so we’re using Birth Compass to help us focus on what matters to you during your early pregnancy, delivery and after-delivery experiences. Birth Compass is an online communication tool that gives you the venue to communicate your preferences about how you wish to be addressed as well as how you envision your delivery and postnatal experience. Ask your provider about Birth Compass or log into your Allina Health account from any smartphone, tablet or computer.