Free Tool
Birth Plan Builder
A free birth plan builder and printable birth plan template. Choose your preferences for labor, delivery, and postpartum care, print it, and share it with your birth team.
Your Details
Start from a popular plan
Presets replace your current picks. Everything stays editable.
Birth Location
Birth Environment
Support Team
Pain Management
Labor Positions
Monitoring and Interventions
During Delivery
Cord Clamping and Cutting
Immediately After Birth
Newborn Care Preferences
Feeding Plan
If a Cesarean Becomes Necessary
Postpartum and Hospital Stay
Keep Your Work
Enter your email to save your birth plan to your account and share it later.
No password. We email you a sign-in link, and your work stays on this device in the meantime. Have an account?
Birth Plan
Created with Baaby Birth Plan Builder · baaby.com/tools/birth-plan-builder
What Goes in a Birth Plan
A birth plan is a short document that communicates your preferences to your birth team. It covers the atmosphere you want during labor, how you feel about pain management, which positions you would like to try, and what should happen in the moments right after your baby arrives. The builder walks you through eight sections:
- 1
Birth Environment
Lighting, music, who is in the room, and how much you want to move around.
- 2
Pain Management
From unmedicated comfort measures to nitrous oxide, IV medication, or an epidural, and when you want each offered.
- 3
Labor Positions
Walking, birth ball, tub or shower, hands and knees, squatting, or side-lying, and whether you want to stay off your back.
- 4
During Delivery
Pushing guidance, mirror or touch, episiotomy preferences, and who catches or cuts the cord.
- 5
Immediately After Birth
Skin-to-skin, delayed cord clamping, placenta plans, and the first hour before any routine checks.
- 6
Newborn Care Preferences
Vitamin K, eye ointment, hepatitis B vaccine, first bath timing, and rooming in.
- 7
Feeding Plan
Exclusive breastfeeding, formula, or a combination, pumping and bottles, and whether you want lactation consultant support.
- 8
If a Cesarean Becomes Necessary
Your partner present, a clear or lowered drape, skin-to-skin in the OR, music, and having the birth narrated to you.
A birth plan is a guide rather than a script. Labor is unpredictable, and your feelings may shift. The plan gives your team a starting point so they can support your values even when circumstances change.
Write it between weeks 28 and 36, then review it with your provider at a prenatal appointment. Keep a copy in your hospital bag and give one to your doula or birth partner.
How to Write Your Birth Plan in Three Steps
- 1
Choose Your Preferences
Work through the eight sections and tap the options that feel right. Skip anything you are unsure about; blank is better than a guess.
- 2
Add Your Details
Enter your name, due date, and provider, plus any notes your team should know, such as allergies or a previous birth experience.
- 3
Print and Share
Print the one-page plan, put a copy in your hospital bag, and review it with your provider at a prenatal visit. Sign in to save it and come back anytime.
Tips for an Effective Birth Plan
Keep It Short
One page is ideal. Nurses read dozens of birth plans. The shorter and clearer yours is, the more likely it will be followed.
Stay Flexible
Use phrases like “I prefer” and “unless medically necessary.” Rigid demands can create tension with your care team.
Talk to Your Provider
Review each section with your midwife or OB. Some preferences depend on your birth location, medical history, or hospital policy.