How to Create a Birth Plan with Your Midwife

,

A birth plan isn’t just a checklist—it’s a communication tool. It helps express your values, preferences, and priorities so your birth team understands how to best support you.

At Attuned Midwifery Services, we view the birth plan as a living conversation, not a rigid script. Together, we co-create a plan that reflects your unique hopes, needs, and vision for birth—while staying flexible for the unknowns.

Why Create a Birth Plan with Your Midwife?

While hospitals often push generic templates, midwives offer a more individualized and collaborative approach to birth planning.

Here’s why it matters:

• ✅ You clarify your birth values

• ✅ You learn your options

• ✅ Your care team aligns with your vision

• ✅ You feel more prepared and confident

• ✅ You reduce fear by understanding the process

  
  

A birth plan written with your midwife is about partnership, not just paperwork.

When to Start Creating Your Birth Plan

We usually begin discussing birth preferences around 28–32 weeks, then refine and finalize your plan by 36 weeks. This allows us to:

• Review childbirth education resources

• Explore your comfort techniques

• Discuss realistic scenarios

• Answer all your “what if” questions

  
  

At Attuned Midwifery, birth planning is woven into your regular prenatal care—not rushed or one-size-fits-all.

What to Include in Your Birth Plan

Here’s what most people cover in a thoughtful, flexible birth plan:

1. Birth Location & Setting

• Home, birth center, or hospital?

• Do you want a calm, quiet atmosphere?

• Preferences for lighting, music, aromatherapy?

  
  

2. Who Will Be Present

• Partner or support person

• Doula

• Older children (if desired and prepared)

• Photographer or videographer

• Anyone you don’t want present

  
  

3. Labor Preferences

• Water birth or use of birth tub

• Mobility and movement (freedom to walk, squat, etc.)

• Pain relief methods: breathing, massage, hydrotherapy

• Avoidance of interventions like Pitocin or AROM unless necessary

  
  

4. Delivery Preferences

• Preferred pushing positions (e.g. hands-and-knees, side-lying)

• Perineal support and tearing prevention

• Immediate skin-to-skin contact

• Delayed cord clamping

• Who will “catch” the baby (in some midwifery practices, you can!)

  
  

5. Newborn Care

• Breastfeeding or chestthe feeding intentions

• Delayed newborn exams

• Vitamin K and erythromycin preferences

• No separation from baby unless medically necessary

  
  

6. In Case of Transfer

If you’re planning a home birth or center birth, include your preferences in the event of a hospital transfer:

• Who rides with you?

• Continue laboring naturally unless medically indicated?

• Midwife or doula presence at the hospital?

  
  

Birth is unpredictable—but that doesn’t mean you can’t be prepared.

Tips for Writing a Clear, Empowered Birth Plan

• ✅ Keep it simple and bullet-pointed

• ✅ Phrase items as preferences, not demands

• ✅ Include a short paragraph about your values or vision

• ✅ Print extra copies and discuss it with everyone on your team

• ✅ Stay open—flexibility is power

  
  

Sample Birth Plan Statement (Intro Paragraph)

"We believe birth is a natural and transformative event. Our goal is a gentle, unmedicated home birth with minimal intervention. We trust our midwife team and look forward to working together with mutual respect and open communication."

How We Support Your Birth Planning at Attuned Midwifery Services

At every prenatal visit, we take time to:

• Talk through your evolving birth vision

• Educate you on realistic options

• Help you explore tools for comfort and mindset

• Make sure your partner feels confident and involved

  
  

By the time labor starts, your birth plan won’t just be on paper—it’ll be in your heart, your team, and your body.

Planning for Birth with Power and Trust

Your birth plan is a declaration of trust in your body, your choices, and your care team. At Attuned Midwifery Services, we honor your preferences and work alongside you to create a birth experience that’s deeply aligned with your intuition and values.

How to create a birth plan with your midwife? Begin with a foundation of trust in your body, your choices, and your care team. At Attuned Midwifery Services, we honor your preferences and collaborate with you to shape a birth experience aligned with your values and intuition.

Ready to build your personalized birth plan with a midwife who truly listens? Schedule a consultation with Attuned Midwifery Services today—and start your birth journey with intention and support.