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Creating a birth preferences plan helps you think through how you want to experience labor and childbirth. It’s the best way to share your goals for your birth experience with your clinician and your care team.
A birth preferences plan isn’t a contract, and you are free to change your mind at any time.
No two births are the same. Unexpected things can happen during labor, but your care team will work with you to keep your birth experience as close as possible to what you want while keeping you and your baby safe.
Expressing your birth preferences is easy. You fill out a simple checklist and bring it with you to your next office visit with your clinician and to the hospital.
What are some preferences?
Birth preferences plans address:
- The environment in the labor and birth room. Who will be with you? Would you like the lights in the room to be dimmed? Would you like to play music?
- Labor. Do you want to be able to move around the room or use a yoga ball? Do you want intermittent fetal monitoring? Do you want your waters to break naturally?
- Birth. Do you want to choose your birthing position? Would you like to view your baby’s birth with a mirror or touch your baby’s head while it is crowning? Who will cut the umbilical cord?
- Pain Management. Are you planning to use techniques like active movement and position changes, hydrotherapy, massage, or visualization? What types of medications do you want to be offered? Do you want an epidural as soon as possible? Would you rather wait to decide when you’re in labor?
- After the birth. Are you planning to breastfeed? If your baby’s sex is male, are you planning to have them circumcised? Do you want to take your placenta home? Are there any cultural or family traditions that you want your care team to know about?