Birth Planning: What NOT To Do

Let’s talk about what NOT to do when it comes to birth planning. Here’s my list:

• Don’t assume you don’t need one
• Don’t rely on social media for evidence-based information
• Don’t forget to discuss your plans in advance with your care provider
• Don’t think of your choices as merely preferences
• Don’t create a birth plan that is lengthy and hard to read

Now that you’ve seen my list, let’s go deeper into each one of these “don’ts”.

Don’t Assume You Don’t Need One

There are countless opinions when it comes to birth plans. A common one I hear is that, because birth is unpredictable, there is no point in creating one. I vehemently disagree on this. 

I like to think of birth planning as a process, not just a piece of paper. It’s the act of going through this process that has immense value. Here are some examples of what you can gain through birth planning:

• Discovering what care is considered routine
• Discovering alternatives to routine care that would not be readily offered as options in the moment
• Learning more about your care provider and how supportive you and your role as decision-maker
• Finding out what tools and amenities will and will not be available at your birth location
• Developing a deeper understanding of the birth process
• Discovering potential obstacles and challenges in advance instead of while you’re in labor
• Developing a communication tool for everyone on your birth team

While a birth doesn’t always go as planned, there are benefits to going through the process and making specific decisions in advance about how you would like to be supported and cared for at a vulnerable and transformative time.

Don’t Rely Solely on Social Media for Evidence-Based Information

While there are some fantastic social media accounts that provide useful content on pregnancy, birth, and postpartum, there are a lot that produce harmful content full of incomplete and incorrect information.

Here’s a few Instagram accounts I recommend:

• @ebbirth
• @vbacfacts
• @babiesafter35
• @birthmonopoly
• @bodyreadymethod
• @spinningbabies
• @drjessicaknurick

If you do follow some quality accounts, use their content to inspire you to learn more. An Instagram Reel can be great for introducing an idea, but the length is limiting for fully exploring a topic. So, if something you see sparks your interest, make a note to dive deeper using reliable sources of information. 

I have an ever-growing collection of quality resources in my Resource Database for exploring a variety of topics related to pregnancy, birth, and postpartum. You can check it out at the link below:

🔗 Resource Database

Don’t Forget to Discuss Your Plans in Advance With Your Care Provider

There are so many birth plan templates available for free online. It’s so easy to print one, fill it out, and bring it with you to your birth without ever having discussed it with your care provider. Don’t do this!

Instead, have ongoing discussions throughout pregnancy with your care provider about the options you are considering. This will give you invaluable insight into how your care provider practices and supports autonomy. (It will also give you time to change providers if you need to.) 

Your care provider can also help you understand how the evidence-based information applies to you, specifically. Your health history, current health status, and other factors factor in to decision-making. 

Also, if you’re looking into options that differ from what is considered routine where you plan to give birth, working out the details in advance is beneficial. You’re much more likely to experience resistance if you show up in labor without having discussed your decisions in advance. 

Don’t Think of Your Choices as Merely Preferences

Your birth plan is not a list of preferences. It’s a tool to communicate SPECIFIC DECISIONS you have made in advance. To me, preferences feel more like options that might be honored and considered if those caring for you find them convenient.

It’s ok to make plans for birth. You can make these plans AND be ready to adapt in the moment to navigate your birth as it actually unfolds in the moment.

Birth is treated like a medical event in our maternity care system. And sometimes circumstances arise that require medical interventions to avoid a cascade of further or more serious complications. But birth is really a transformative life event. Your preferences, priorities, values, and goals should absolutely be a part of the decisions you ultimately make for YOUR birth experience. What you want for yourself should not be treated merely as preferences that someone else can decide or decide not to honor.

Don’t Create a Birth Plan That is Lengthy and Hard to Read

Ideally, your birth plan is a tool that communicates the decisions you’ve made and discussed in advance with your care provider. The final document needs to quickly and clearly communicate these decisions to those who are part of your birth team.

Organized bullet points or checklists are easier to read through than long paragraphs of text. And that’s all you’ll really need if you’ve treated birth planning like a process throughout pregnancy. You won’t need a lot of text to over-explain or convince your birth team to support your decisions. This will all have been done in advance.

Your birth plan basically serves as a reminder of these decisions. It will also easily communicate them to those you haven’t met before (like labor and delivery nurses or if a different care provider is on call at the time).

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

This post was basically a list of what NOT to do when it comes to birth plans. So what SHOULD you do?

Think of birth planning as a form of decision-making. I have a four-phase process that can be used for birth planning, as well as for decisions related to prenatal and postpartum care and for navigating the unexpected during birth. Here’s a quick overview of the phases:

• Discover
• Discuss
• Decide
• Document

You can read more about this process here:

🧭 Making Decisions For Your Body, Birth, and Baby