Your Birth Plan

You are more likely to have the pregnancy and childbirth experience that you want if you and your doctor or nurse-midwife work as partners. Creating a personalized birth plan will help you get the care that you want. And you will be less likely to have tests and procedures that you don't want.

What’s a Birth Plan?

A birth plan is an outline of your preferences for labor and delivery. Your doctor will ask questions, listen and help you create a plan that’s right for you and your family.

What to Include

Your doctor or nurse-midwife will talk to you about your options for your birth experience, respect your choices and help communicate your plan to your care team. You’ll talk about:

• Location you want to deliver your baby
• Personal needs or preferences that will help your doctor or hospital best prepare for your care
• Preparing for birth
• Ways your support person can participate

Low-Intervention Birth

A low-intervention birth means, whenever possible, you’ll deliver your baby without medical interventions such as induction, certain medications, an epidural, Cesarean section (C-section) and other treatments. If medically necessary, your care team will be ready to provide interventions.