Looking for a simple birth plan that any healthcare provider will take seriously? You’ve found one! Download this free, one page visual birth plan template.
A birth plan, sometimes referred to as birthing plan, is a blueprint of what choices you and your partner have made for the arrival of your child. It also helps your birth attendants support you during your labor and delivery in the best possible way. But where to even start? We want to make the task as easy and stress-free as possible, so we’ve created a great visual birth plan template for you to follow.
Share your name and email and we’ll send you our easy-to-customize birth plan template right now.
A birth plan is a very important step to having the natural birth you want. A birth plan is about putting down your preferences, in black and white, before labor begins so that you are prepared for whatever events may arise and can make informed choices about your and baby’s care and safety. It also enables your birth team to access those choices without disrupting you during labor. (Be sure you’ve discussed your desires in detail with your birth team, so that there are no surprises in labor!)
“I just went to the hospital to put this in my chart, and my midwife absolutely loves it— she said it’s the best and clearest way to keep everyone on the same page. I can’t say thank you enough!”
-Stephanie
When you click on the link to download your free customizable birth plan template, you’ll get two choices: download an editable template via a zip file or download a PDF (not editable). To create the most personalized birth plan, we recommended downloading the zip file.
To edit the file, you’ll need access to Microsoft Word (Pages on Macs works, too) on a laptop or desktop computer.
Once you’ve downloaded the file, open it with your word processor. You’ll see on the second page of the document there are over a dozen additional icons to choose from. Just click and drag those icons to the first page and arrange them however you like.
Simply delete any icons that don’t apply to you. Once you’ve deleted the icons that do not apply to your birth plan, you’ll be left with the perfect visual plan—something nice, clean, and concise for nurses and doctors to refer to during your labor and delivery.
Learn to have an amazing birth – Birth Course Promo [In-article]
(without leaving your couch)
This customizable birth plan template includes visual birth plan icons for:
Share your name and email and we’ll send you our easy-to-customize birth plan template right now.
Based on feedback from mamas just like you, we added a handful of new icons to our editable visual birth plan template, including these.
Mama Natural birth plan template – new icons
Plus, we’ve added a new section of icons to help guide a Gentle Cesarean.
Mama Natural visual birth plan template – new gentle cesarean icons
Blue icons skew positive—they represent things that you want your birthing team to do. I.e. Do allow for free movement during labor or do proceed with delayed cord clamping.
Red icons, on the other hand, skew negative—they represent things you do not want your birthing team to do. I.e. Do not do an episiotomy or do not bathe baby after birth.
If you choose your birth space and attendants with care, you may not need to write down many of the things found in most birth plans.
For example, a good midwife won’t routinely break your water, do unnecessary vaginal exams, or insist on continuous fetal monitoring. Furthermore, you may discover that many of your choices, like doulas in the birthing room or no mention of epidurals, are standard care with your chosen attendants.
But if you’re delivering at a hospital and want to have a natural childbirth, creating a birth plan is probably a good idea. It really depends on what hospital you are delivering at, because standards of care differ from hospital to hospital. Some hospitals have policies that are more compatible with natural childbirth. Other hospitals will assume you are okay with various labor interventions that run counter to your wishes. If the latter is the case, a birth plan can be very important tool for you.
Birth plans can also be a good way for mamas-to-be to exercise their right to respectful, high-quality care. For women of color, this Black Birthing Bill of Rights might empower you as you work on your birthing plan.
It’s sad, but I’ve heard many stories of nurses laughing at birth plans or the women who write them; sometimes referring to these laboring moms as “high maintenance.”
Nurses especially hate birth plans that are perceived to be:
To those nurses, women who write birth plans are inflexible, don’t understand the unpredictable nature of birth, and want a natural birth even if it costs her or her baby their safety or health. They believe that a birth plan just sets moms up for disappointment.
Mama Natural Week By Week Guide to Pregnancy book natural childbirth plan
Three words: Keep it simple. With a straightforward, to-the-point birth plan template, healthcare providers are more likely to understand your preferences and take them seriously. This is a win-win for everyone, since a clear visual birth plan will also help you feel more comfortable in their hands.
Share your name and email and we’ll send you our easy-to-customize birth plan template right now.
Did it help you? Do you feel like the hospital or birthing center staff paid attention to your birth plan? Share your experience with us in the comments below!
Genevieve Howland is a doula and childbirth educator. She is the bestselling author of The Mama Natural Week-by-Week Guide to Pregnancy and Childbirth and creator of the Mama Natural Birth Course. A mother of three, graduate of the University of Colorado, and YouTuber with over 135,000,000 views, she helps mothers and moms-to-be lead healthier and more natural lives.
I was able to get the emailed birth plan template!! It took longer than 5 minutes, but I had it within 15 minutes. The editing process was super easy. 🙂
Hello I tried two different emails and I didn’t get my birth plan on either. I see that many others are having the same issue! I was really hopeful for this and hope this willl be resolved soon and you are able to get that birth plan out to us. Thank you!
I would love to use this birth plan unfortunately the site does not let me type in my due date to get started 😣
I’ve signed up to receive the birth plan but have not received anything in my inbox or junk/spam. Please advice, thank you!
I signed up for the birth plan but I have not received anything. I do not see it in my spam or junk email either. I’ve tried it a few times but still do not receive it. Any help is appreciated. Thank you!
Needed this for mine before I passed out my lips turned blue and it was so cold I actually passed out with after delivery 🙁 and when I woke up we were in labor and delivery
My baby was born July 21 2022
I was in shock and I didn’t piece my thoughts together until a week later I wish someone would have told me that would’ve happened it was a nightmare my water only half broke so they had to break it was the worst pain of my life and I had to stop pushing because it hurt so bad then when I did he slid backwards it was really bad I tore and had to have 4 stitches 🙁
Hi there! I have not gotten the birth plan via email. I have checked spam and all other options. [email protected]
Thanks a lot!
I have tried twice to sign up to receive the template and I am not seeing anything in my inbox or junk mail!! Please can you help or send it to me manually? [email protected]
Hello, I have not received my birth plan either. Not sure if it is supposed to take this long or not. Thanks!
not sure if I am supposed to receive the template right away, but I provided my info and haven’t received anything
I keep getting to the add your due date to send the form to my email and it won’t let me enter anything in the due date column, so I can’t press send or continue.
Hi, the emailing is not working. I filled out the form to get my birth plan a few times and I never receive the template. I have checked my spam and tried with different emails, but I still didn’t get the template.
This is amazing! Thanks for creating this 🙂 I would like to add the suggestion of adding a “Labor Down” icon
I absolutely love the idea of having a visual birth plan! I am planning a home birth, but in case of a hospital transfer, I want to be prepared to communicate my preferences with the hospital caretakers. A few other icons that I would really love to have for my birth plan are: limited interruptions and/or permission to check vitals (without consent each time), unassisted placenta delivery (or “physiological third stage”), and partner catch. In the event that a cesarean is needed, I would also love to let them know in advance that I do not want to be strapped down, I’d like my music of choice playing, and (hopefully this goes without saying, but) no general anesthesia! Thanks for considering adding these to this awesome tool you’ve created!
Also I saw on your YouTube video on how you can treat DIABETES naturally. And of course you have the comments turned off because you can’t handle people telling you how utterly insane and dangerous that is.
If you believe in the germ theory model of dis-ease which it seems you do, then you won’t innerstand that any diagnosis and dis-ease received can be cured. All it takes is a bit of change and determination on your part. No one can tell you something isn’t possible, unless of course you yourself believe they are right. Then good luck with believing anything that goes against that initial belief.
And yo those of you who might say “but me and my baby turned out great” remember the ones that didn’t aren’t here to talk about it.
So much of this is incredibly harmful. Vitamin K is literally used to stop brain bleeds, baby’s often don’t have enough of it in their systems, and overdoses are so incredibly rare you can’t even find a proper percentage. Some women absolutely need IV, and it’s not always good to follow your natural instincts when delivering. There are stories of women continuing to push even when their doctor tell them to stop and that they need a c section, this often leads to the baby’s death. And for the commenters saying that the reason we have the the highest infant mortality because doctor are incompetent and baby’s are getting to many procedures, you are also wrong. It’s because our health care system is privatized and not universal, its not that baby’s are getting procedures, its that many poor familiescant afford necessary procedures fir their baby’s. Doctors and nurses are overworked to the point of absolute exhaustion. This means they unfortunately make more mistakes. Ladies I’d your doctor tell you to do something (or stop doing something) because otherwise your baby will die or be injured, please do what they say! And remember before modern medicine a significant portion of women died in childbirth, that is why their is so much monitoring and procedures, it’s to keep you and your baby alive. Yes some of the procedures have drawbacks like and upset gut, but that is infidelity better then having your child pass away.
It appears based on your comment you are a little uneducated. I would suggest researching a little before offering your advice on what woman should be doing for their babies and their births. What do you tell the women whose babies dies due to medical interventions? Oh well at least you listened to the doctor. Oh, your doctor made a mistake because their over worked too bad you weren’t educated enough to manage your own birth. See the issue today is to many women say my doctor knows best but yet doctors are literally paid by companies to use their products. Did you know Pitocin has a warning on it not to use it to induce labor and yet doctors do it anyway and they don’t even tell women that they are using it off label. Vitamin K isn’t even a vitamin because its synthetic. It also has a black box warning meaning it can kill your baby and can also cause all sorts of problems on its own. If you want to give Vit k then give the real stuff not the shot from the doctors. Then there is Hep B they give newborns for sexually transmitted virus that unless the mother has the baby definitely won’t. It’s important as humans that we are informed and can make our own decisions. To many people just take the word of some doctor who takes their advice from the very same people profiting off its sale. I would suggest you learn more before running off at the mouth.
I love the concept and the visualness of it.
However, I cannot use it as is, because the choices are too limited. Feel free to ignore my feedback, because it is not entirely in the spirit of a natural birth, but it should offer to put which interventions you are happy with especially if medically necessary (and you know in advance). I am having twins and know that some interventions are a matter of policy (e.g epidural at some point) and so I have to plan for these outcomes.
Also, in general, could we have positive/negative alternatives for each? E.g. actively say that you’re happy with Vitamin K, v__, or students.
Wondering if you may be able to add some icon about baby in room with me vs nursery welcome? Maybe not that wording, but I remember my nurses taking my firstborn to the nursery “so I could sleep” – but it was so much harder having my newborn being taken from me. Would love to state a preference of baby staying in my room overnight!
This is so helpful! Thank you for putting it together. I have done a lot of research about ensuring the hospital follows your birthing plan and overall wishes pertaining to you and your baby. I found that if you submit a legal affidavit to the hospital at least 15 days prior to delivery, and they don’t respond to it, then they legally have to follow your wishes. They have 15 days to respond to make any changes, yet if they do not then they are legally bound to your affidavit. You should always confirm this with a legal advisor as I have done, but it’s a very important step to ensure your wishes are followed. Make sure it’s signed by you, your doctor and the person who receives it at the hospital.
I wish there was a natural elivery of placenta icon! So many providers tug on the umbilical cord to hurry it along!
Thank you for this. Doctors love to fear-monger about all the things that “can go wrong” when in reality pregnancy is a natural, normal process old as time… and for most, average (read: low risk, healthy) women, most modern interventions are unnecessary & invasive and not the norm in other countries.
As a board-certified OB/GYN, I can tell you that doctors and nurses do not “like this.” Birth plans are absolutely ridiculous. We are highly trained professionals and we want a birth which is free from issues. The ridiculous requests such as “no eye ointment” or “no vitamin K” place your baby at INCREASED RISK of poor outcomes. I can assure you my four years of medical school, four years of residency, and sixteen years of practice beat out your Facebook groups. Google is not a research medium. Peer-reviewed medical texts are. There is a reason for education. Here’s my deal – have your plan. If it goes wrong, you don’t get to sue me.
Wow Mark Meadows MD! This is why there is such a divide in the healthcare community. There is nothing wrong with parents choosing what and how they want THEIR child and THEMselves to be treated medically or socially. I hope you don’t speak this way to your patients. If you do, I’m surprised you have been in practice for 16 years. You either really keep your narrow minded opinions under wraps, or your patients enjoy being subservient to a very proud, conceited, judgmental public health “servant”. I hope you soften up some day and really look at what it means to be a servant to others and utilize your knowledge and experience to help guide them in making their own healthcare decisions instead of telling them how ridiculous they are for wanting to be educated and have a say in what happens to their own body.
Doctors just like you are the reason I’m actually anxious giving birth in a hospital. You may have many years of education, yet it seems you’re only willing to look at the sources of your education that suit you and your career. I’m aware that many OB/GYN doctors just like you have shamed or tried to scare new moms away from their preferred birth plans. Due to you and your colleagues we have to submit legal affidavits, not just birth plans to the hospitals weeks prior to delivery. We have the law on our side and we just need to be reminded of it and make sure to use it. I’d enjoy taking you to court and suing you if you went against my wishes.
Ah yes. I can tell you are TOTALLY up to date by the fact that you don’t even know or acknowledge that Google — i.e. Google Scholar — is one of the biggest collections of peer-reviewed medical texts on the globe. There is a reason for continuing education. It is absolutely fascinating to me that the United States with all its highly educated OB/GYNs has one of the highest infant and maternal death rates in the world; of the 11 most developed nations, the US has THE highest rate of infant and maternal deaths. The number of deaths have been increasing yearly. Quite ironically, in areas of the US with higher percentages of midwives, the rate of infant and maternal death DECREASES. And yes, there is plenty of research that backs this up. But then, I’ve never hesitated to say “If you insist on this unnecessary and dangerous or inappropriate procedure, please sign this notification that you have been warned that in the event of adverse outcome, you WILL be sued.”
Hi, I’m an L&D nurse at a large metropolitan hospital, and I can say that everyone here seems to have some good points. First of all, I think we all agree that a healthy baby and mom are the highest of priorities. The struggle always comes we we discuss the ways to get there and what we are willing to do or give up if needed along the way. You are correct, birth is a beautiful, natural process that has occurred for millenia and it very (possibly most) often occurs without complication. But for millenia pregnancies didn’t occur for some due to genetic or medical histories, pregnancies were lost early on due to some of the same complications, and many, far too many, women and babies were lost along the way. We now have the opportunity to assist almost anyone who desires to become pregnant and carry a baby to a viable age. But this comes with consequenses in some cases, and often require additional interventions (medications or supplements for those with hypothyroidism, frequent assessment for the “elderly gravid” patient, and transfusions for some severely anemic patiens for example. I can tell you that I’ve had patients who lost way, way too much blood to be able to start an IV after the problem started, who would have bled to death if they didn’t have IV access. I’ve seen babies with trauma, infection, and respiratory complications because the patient and their provider were not in agreement about moving from a natural delivery to a c-section, or the administration of antibiotics, or delayed care due to the congestion of visitors in the delivery room.
When I receive a patient, I sit down and talk. We talk about what their goals are for the day, how they see things going, what they would rather not have or would not negotiate on at all. I then take the time to talk about the constraints that I am under as far as hospital policies go (which honestly aren’t that much… but I’ve had to tell families to stop smoking weed in the bathrooms and please don’t have sex with the patient . ). Then I talk about anything that we haven’t covered yet. I explain that I will work towards making this the day they dreamed of while keeping everyone safe. I talk about things that MAY happen. I explain who MAY be in the room and I make sure we are all on the same page going forward.
In my experience, the vast majority of situations can be rectified by TALKING. Your nurse doesn’t give two iotas about how this baby comes out, but we DO care about making sure you and your baby are healthy, happy, and whole. We LOVE what we do, we want you to LOVE the experience you have.
I understand that the birthing center or home is a beautiful place to deliver and that’s great for so many people. But, when you or your baby are at higher risk for complications, I do hope you find a provider that has the same beliefs as you, practices in a way that you like, and can deliver in a hospital with staff who will work with you and reinforce the thought that we are all here because we love it.
“We want a birth free from issues” Let me help you out on that….
That Should read–
“Most nurses today are not trained well enough to do anything more give an epidural and monitor an unnatural/medicated birth. Because we’ve scared a whole generation into not believing they can birth a baby.
I Dr. Mark BOARD certified OB, want to be able to be called by the nurse at the last moment to catch the baby.
IE: do less work/care.
Mostly, we (OB and nurses)prefer as many invasive procedures so that Healthcare is a money making machine for hospitals, doctors and insurance companies.” I’ve seen it all- given natural delivery to 4 babies in the hospital. And had to fight for my birth plan each time.
I understand your frustration with Dr. Mark, but please, please do not group nurses in with this. You said that “most nurses today are not trained well enough to do anyting more [than] give an epidural and monitor an unnatural/medicated birth…”
Um, as an L&D nurse I can tell you that this is wrong. We are highly trained individuals who care deeply for our patients. I can tell you without a doubt that every single nurse I work with (about 80 on my unit) would run on two broken legs to save you or your baby. No Matter What.
Also, we (nurses) don’t “prefer as many invasive procedures”. Every single time something needs to be done, it is your nurse who has to do it. We start the IV, start your pitocin, increase your pitocin, adjust the monitors, take your vital signs, monitor your baby and contractions, give you medications, support you while the anesthesia team gives you an epidural, place your foley catheter, clean up your blood and amniotic fluid, take your baby’s vital signs, massage your uterus after deliver, clean up more blood, assist you to the bathroom, and call the doctor if we ever need them, which we rarely do because we KNOW what we are doing.
If you go natural, we rarely have to do anything.
I don’t care if you have a birth plan and you don’t want to talk to me at all, that’s fine.
But, I WILL explain the pros and cons of each choice that you have. I will make sure that you have all the information available BEFORE we need to do emergency anything.
I don’t care how much money the hospital makes, as long as they can pay my measly salary.
I skip lunch, bathroom breaks, my kids soccer games, and friends funerals so that I can be there for you. Please don’t put words in our mouths.
Horrifying comment, Mark. So glad I’m giving birth in the UK rather than the good old USA, but I feel terribly about all the women in your care. Wonder if you will now have seen the August 2022 Journal of Clinical Epidemiology? “Most healthcare interventions tested in Cochrane Reviews are not effective according to high quality evidence: a systematic review and meta-analysis”. Wonder about the rest of the stuff you think is absolutely true. Good luck to all your patients.
Love this! It takes all the hassle and stress out of making a birth plan. So grateful for this. Maybe add an icon for no heel prick?
Why wouldn’t you want your newborn tested for inborn errors of metabolism? What if something went wrong and your baby suffered needlessly because you did your research via Facebook?
Hi, I’ve been attempting to access the birth plan – however, the website isn’t allowing me to get passed the insert due date to proceed. Is there another way to access this?! It just freezes.
Just check your email! I exited out of that screen and didn’t sign up, and birth plan went to my inbox anyways
Thank you so much for this amazing resource! One thing some clients have been asking for is a Birth Pause icon, if you think that would be appropriate. Thank you again for all you do
Hello! I just downloaded your template and I am unable to edit it. I do not see where I can change the color of the icons/ the text below them. I’m hoping you can help. Thank you!
I absolutely love the look of this template, HOWEVER I am unable to make it fully customizable. I can delete icons I don’t want, but I can’t add any or change a red icon to a blue (and visa versa). If there’s a way to customize this, please please let me know! I really want to use this template, but it’s not working for me.
I’m about to have my second baby and using this template for the first time. It’s almost perfect.. just wish you all had an icon for “no coached pushing” like Haley said and “delivery in my preferred position” (I’m due March 28th) 🙁
Download the word version.
Put the cursor in the icon you want to change.
Right click. “format picture” with a little paintbrush and can icon should pop up. Click it.
A “Format Picture” panel should pop up.
You should see an icon that looks like mountains and a moon. Click “picture color” which will be one of the selections.
Go down to “recolor” and click it.
A color panel will pop up. Click the one you want and watch the magic. OKAY — there are loads of things you can do to change these icons, but you are going to have to play. I’ve given you the very basic method. If you print out this paragraph or take a picture with your phone, you won’t have to keep coming back to look at the directions (been there, done that).
